Love and Magic
by TigerLilyBulb
Summary: When Frisk returns from her first semester of college pregnant, the first person she turns to is her best friend and partner in crime, Sans. But when despite everything, they can't hide their feelings for each other, will the differences between magic and determination push them apart?
1. The Cinnamon Scented Truth

**AN: I don't want to spend too much time introducing this story, because I want to let the first chapter speak for itself, but a couple things: one, while I am I'm full support of agender Frisk, I do write her as female in this fic (in order to separate her from another incarnation of Frisk in a different fic I am drabbling with), two, since I've already written about thirteen chapters of this fic, it's going to be a long one and I hope to update at least twice a week, which should be fun. Thirdly, this fic is probably going to get a rating change in the future, but that I'll leave up to how the story develops. Lastly, while I do have Papyrus speak in ALL CAPS, there's too much Sans dialogue for me to stand him speaking in all lowercase, so forgive me.**

* * *

Chapter One – The Cinnamon Scented Truth

Despite how much she missed her family, Frisk was not excited to come home for winter break. It wasn't that she had made great friends that she would miss (because she really hadn't) or that she really wanted to continue working towards her major, but because, well, she knew as soon as she got back home, she wouldn't want to come back.

Her attending college had really been her Mom's dream. Tori had raised her while going to college herself, in order to become a teacher (which she did on top of both her queenly and motherly duties), and couldn't imagine a world where Frisk wouldn't attend as well. While Frisk was perfectly content to take the job Grillby had offered her and spend her life with her immortal family and friends, the Queen of Monsters would have none of her excuses. She wanted to give Frisk the chance to see the world, rather than spend her entire life in just the tiny section that the majority of the monster race inhabited.

And it wasn't to say that Frisk completely flopped her first semester. She had people that she ate with at lunch, and she had maintained decent grades in her classes, despite how many weekends she spent at parties, trying to avoid being lonely in her room, because coming home every weekend would have disappointed her parents terribly. But, truth be told, Frisk wasn't interested in seeing the world. She believed that people left home because they wanted something more, and Frisk had everything she ever wanted. Friends, family, a happy home. That is all she ever dreamed of when she climbed Mt. Ebott alone, all those years ago, and now she had all that and a lot more.

Only now, as she looked down at the pregnancy test in her hands, she realized that she had something she didn't want, as well as a whole new host of reasons why she should have never left home.

* * *

"HUMAN. WHY ARE YOU SO SILENT. IS SOMETHING WRONG?" Papyrus asked, turning his attention on her instead of the road. He had driven the three hours to come get her, as Frisk hadn't brought her car to college, and while she hadn't meant to give her friend the silent treatment, she wasn't exactly being the best company either.

"I'm okay, Pap. Just a lot on my mind."

"WELL IT IS A LONG DRIVE, SO GO AHEAD AND UNLOAD IT."

She couldn't tell Papyrus. Not until she decided how she was going to handle this. Papyrus was the best friend she could ask for, but he was horrible at keeping secrets.

Only that begged the question. Who could she tell first? Her first thought was to tell her Sans, because she told him most everything (over skype, every night that he wasn't working and she wasn't partying, to the constant annoyance of her roommate), but this? She wasn't sure.

"YOU FAILED A CLASS, DIDN'T YOU? I, PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER FAILED AT ANYTHING, BUT I AM SURE THAT IT REALLY BOTHERS YOU TO HAVE –"

"I didn't fail, Pap, but thanks. I did pretty well this semester."

"I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATORY DINNER. WHERE SHOULD WE STOP?"

"I'm not really hungry. Maybe later though." However, she really, really had to pee. Which was annoying, because they had only been on the road about half an hour and she knew she had gone before they left. "Can we hit a rest stop though?"

"NO GAS STATION SNACKS. I CAME PREPARED WITH HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES."

Frisk loved Papyrus, she really did, but it was going to be a long drive.

* * *

Frisk sat politely though the homecoming dinner that her parents had prepared, even enjoying herself at times, especially when Pap and Undyne got up to their usual antics. She had missed them all so much, after all, and even with everything that had gone on the past semester weighing heavily upon her, she felt more relaxed than she had in ages. She had missed being home terribly, after all, and while Fall Break hadn't been that long ago, it wasn't nearly enough.

She looked up from her reverie to see Sans watching her, a glimmer of concern on her old friend's face. Her stomach entertained a small flutter of emotion, which wasn't new, but wasn't helping matters, because every time his eyes met hers, she had wanted to tell him everything. She smiled, hoping to dispel his concern, but should have known better.

"Why the long face, Frisk?" Sans asked. "I thought you were a human, not a horse."

"SANS." Papyrus was unamused as usual, but Frisk chuckled at the joke. "IF THEY WON'T TELL ME THEIR PROBLEM, THEY CERTAINLY AREN'T GOING TO TELL YOU."

"Are you having problems, dear?" Her mother asked, concerned. Suddenly all eyes were on her. Her stomach turned and she felt a heaviness in her chest.

"I- uh – um- no. I'm just… heh… tired. Just tired. Long semester, you know." She was breathing harder, but she tried not to let the panic show. The last thing she needed was for her panic attacks to rear their ugly head. But she had beaten them down once, and she could do it again. She hoped.

"Of course, dear. We won't keep you up too late then." Her father said, and never had she been so grateful for him. Of course, he knew something was up, but her parents always knew.

"Thanks. I uh, didn't get a lot of sleep while studying for finals and it's finally catching up to me." She said, which was a blatant lie. Frisk had barely studied, but the exhausted college student gambit seemed to be working.

* * *

While Frisk was never really happy to see her friends leave, it was nice to be able to retreat to her room and collapse on her bed. Her old room was exactly as she left it, slightly cluttered and smelling softly of cinnamon (she made a mental note to thank her mom for picking up more cinnamon wax for her wax burner).

She was half asleep on her bed, when she heard a soft knock at the door. She considered pretending to actually be asleep, but against her better judgement, murmured "Come in."

To her surprise, it was Sans, rather than her parents. She sat up to give her room to sit by her.

"I know you think you need your beauty sleep, but I realized I forgot to give you your going away present when you left for college, and figured it was time to get around to it."

Frisk giggled at her lazy friend. "You could have saved yourself some shopping and made it a Gyftmas present at this point."

"I didn't think of that. Nevermind then."

"Nope, you're already told me, now you have to get me another present." She grinned.

He handed her a small package wrapped in newspaper comics. "Eh, I could always just add my name to whatever Papyrus gets you when he isn't looking."

"I'm surprised you don't do that anyway."

"It's because he caught on that I'd been doing it, and now he hides them. It's more of a hassle to find his weird hiding places than just go shopping. Besides, I already got you something for Gyftmas."

Frisk felt a slight blush in her cheeks. "You really don't need to get me anything, but thank you."

"Stop pretending you don't love it when people buy you things and unwrap your gift."

"If you insist." She replied, doing as he asked. It was a framed photo of her and Sans crossing the finish line of the three-legged race they had (by some grace of god) won at the Royal Picnic last summer. In the background, she could see Alphys struggling to keep up with Undyne – who was gaining on them, and Papyrus dragging along Mettaton, who was waving at the paparazzi alongside the race route rather than pulling his own weight. Frisk couldn't smiled wide at the memory. "It's perfect. Thank you."

"I figured you could keep it on your desk to remind yourself that you're a champion."

"I don't know if winning a three-legged race makes me a champ, but thanks."

"Well I'm always rooting for you." Good old Sans. He always knew what to say.

Overcome by emotion, Frisk wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the space between the fuzz of his coat and the bones of his neck. He held her tight, and for the first time since she had left for college, she felt like everything was going to be okay.

"I missed you." She murmured.

"I missed you too." He replied pulling her closer. Her stomach fluttered again.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" He asked after they had pulled apart.

She frowned, looking down at the hand that had almost instinctively landed on her stomach. _Traitor_. "It's nothing."

"Frisk, I haven't seen you so bummed out since your hamster died."

She had forgotten all about Snowflake. The little white ball of fluff lasted all of a week in her care. Which wasn't exactly a comforting memory, considering the looming responsibility. Of course, she had been about twelve or thirteen at the time. "This is ah, a little more serious than that."

"Ah, I had figured your dorm goldfish had died. Anything other than that isn't in my area of expertise. Guess you're on your own."

"I had realized that you were an expert pet mourner."

"Papyrus has had 13 fish and 3 pet snails to date. And an ant farm."

"I thought he still had the ant farm."

"The ant farm, yes. The ants, no."

"I knew the ants at that picnic looked familiar."

"We won't go into that. Anyway, what was the fish's name?"

"You just want me to tell you my problems so you can prove Papyrus wrong."

He shrugged. "You caught me."

Frisk smiled. Maybe she could tell Sans. He had been her partner in crime since day one, after all. And while he may not be the most understanding, at least at first, he would be the most supportive. And, most importantly, least likely to spill the beans.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"We both know I'm too lazy to tell anyone." Coming from anyone else, it wouldn't be reassuring. But from her favorite skeleton, she knew she was in good hands.

Only now, her voice caught in her throat, panic rushing to the surface as she considered saying the words out loud.

"Breathe, Frisk." He took her hand in his. His touch was as soothing as ever. "Whatever it is, it's going to be okay. I promise."

She took a deep breath, and then another.

"Slowly."

She couldn't believe she was being coached in breathing by a being with no lungs, but it wasn't the first time. He did breathe himself, after all. Somehow. "Promise you won't judge?" She half whispered.

"Of course not."

"I'm pregnant."

Oh god she had said it. Her throat tightened up completely and her vision went fuzzy.

"Frisk, breathe." He grabbed both of her hands tight, grounding her. "Breathe, sweetheart. Breathe. Hey, focus. Focus on me, okay? I know I'm not the cutest, but I'm better than whatever you're panicking about." He pressed his forehead to hers, holding the back of her head in one hand. She nodded slowly, her breath coming out in squeaky little gasps.

"I see that violin in your throat still needs tuned. I thought your college had a music program."

Frisk smiled weakly, one hand pressed to her hammering chest.

She was mostly calm before Sans brought back up the subject that had panicked her. "So you're having a kid, you said?"

She nodded.

"Frisk, that's… that's pretty awesome. You've already found your soulmate. And I know it's a little early to have kids, like Undyne and Alphys are just starting to consider it, and we haven't even met the lucky human, but uh-" Despite the fact that he was encouraging her, he seemed a little said.

 _Wait_. Soulmate?

"Sans, uh, humans don't have kids the same way monsters do. Like, I know monster pregnancies are a result of love and magic, rather than-" She knew that most monsters could have sex too, even though it was usually quite different from the human variety and didn't result in children, but.. how was she going to explain this one. "The human way is a bit more, um, physical in nature and not necessarily involving love.. at all.." She avoided Sans' gaze, shame burning on her cheeks.

He was silent for a moment, apprehension creeping into Frisk's chest. "That explains why there's so many humans."

"Thanks, Sans." Tears bit into her eyes.

"That's not what I meant, hon." What was with the pet names tonight? She wasn't _that_ fragile.

"I know. It's just… I feel so stupid."

"Hey. Come here." He pulled her into his lap, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She loved the way they cuddled when one of them was upset, their safe closeness was one of the best parts of their friendship. "Tell me what happened, okay?"

"It's not important." She murmured into his shoulder. "I was at a party, and I was awkward and lonely and he was cute and confident." It wasn't the first time she had slept with someone she barely knew.. she had been making that decision a lot, while trying to find her new place in the world. "I don't even remember his name." She was pretty certain she knew which one it was, but that didn't matter, really.

"I can't really imagine you ever being awkward and lonely."

"I uh, kept that part out of our Skype calls. I didn't want you to know how unhappy I really was."

He petted her back, and she felt herself getting drowsy. She hadn't been sleeping very well lately, but curled up in her best friend's arms, she wasn't sure how well she could stay awake. "I could tell, but I figured if something was really wrong, you'd tell me."

"I know. I should have…" She paused. "I just figured if I kept going to parties, I'd wake up one day and I'd have friends." She let the tears fall. "I knew leaving was a bad idea."

"Hey, at least you gave it the old college try. But you're home now, with your real friends, and that's the important thing."

"You're the best." She gave him a squeeze.

"Nah, I'm just really good at pretending."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **-TigerLily**


	2. Deep Rooted Habits

**AN: All of your support of this story fills me with DETERMINATION. All jokes aside, I was really surprised by how much love this fic is already getting, so I hope that this second chapter meets your expectations.**

 **To the reviewer that said Sans is almost out of character, thank you for pointing it out to me. Since this chapter is from the perpective of the notorious skelley's himself, I have to admit that it has a few hiccups in terms of character, but there's so many times you can edit a chapter before you hate the whole thing, right? However, I think I really hit my Sans dialogue stride in chapter three, so bear with me a little longer as I get the feel for him :)**

* * *

Chapter Two – Deep Rooted Habits

Sans carefully tucked Frisk into her bed, lingering far longer in her room than he should, breathing in cinnamon as he watched her sleep. She was so beautiful, the lines of worry that her long months away from home had wrought upon her face falling away as she rested, the burdens of her heart settled down, at least for the moment.

He really had missed her. He knew that letting her get out and seeing the world was important, but it had been a long autumn without his best friend. It was strange, coming home from work and her not already being there, either ready to throw the PlayStation controller at him as he plopped on the couch or giggling in the kitchen with Papyrus as they toed the line between delicious and disaster with their culinary creations. He and Papyrus had been doing fine, but there was definitely a Frisk shaped hole in their lives that no amount of Skype calls could fill.

She was back now, but not completely, the bright smile on her face constantly dripping down into a pensive frown. He'd give anything to be able to fix it for her, but there wasn't much he could do, even though he'd literally do anything for her.

Except, maybe tell her how he really felt.

But if ever got his hands on that human boy, well, he'd make sure they'd never take advantage of anyone ever again. And while he knew it might just be jealously fueling his anger, someone deserved to pay for the distress that his Frisk was in. Right?

Maybe not. The decision was as much hers as theirs, after all. But something about the whole situation didn't feel right to him. Frisk was the only one paying for her decision. She wanted friends, to belong. Not this.

Remembering that Papyrus was waiting up for him, he closed the door to her room softly, padding down the stairs to find Frisk's parents in the kitchen, chatting quietly over their nightly cup of tea.

"Sans, I forgot you were here. Is Frisk still up?" Toriel asked.

"Nah, she fell asleep on me. She's worse than I am sometimes."

The king looked concerned. "Do you think all she needs is sleep, or is there anything else we can do for her?" She really had everyone worried. Frisk usually lit up the room with her smile, but tonight, well.. it was easy to see that she had gotten very used to being ignored.

"Just let her rest. Some good food and time with her friends and family is all she needs." It wasn't a complete lie, so he didn't feel as bad saying it. The decision to tell them was Frisk's, not his, after all.

"Did she tell you what is wrong?" Toriel asked.

Sans faltered, unsure of how to respond. There was only so much he was willing to lie about.

"You don't have to tell us what she said, as long as she's talking to someone about it." She reassured him. "Just, she's not in any danger, is she?"

"She told me. And, she's safe. I promise. If she wasn't I'd have some road tripping to do tonight. She just.. has a few things she needs to figure out."

"I see you're still making good on that promise to me." Tori smiled. He had promised to protect her, and while it wasn't always for the Queen's sake, he'd be damned if any harm befell her.

"I'm good for more than just great jokes and naps." He shrugged.

"Would you like some tea?" The king asked him.

"Thanks, but I really need to get back home. Papyrus is still probably waiting up for his bedtime story and he's going to be cranky tomorrow if he stays up too much longer."

"You still read to him?" The Queen asked.

"Every night." He smiled. "Anyway, have a good night."

"Same to you, Sans." Asgore replied, with his soft smile. "And thank you."

* * *

Papyrus was half asleep when Sans got home, curled up in bed with one of his favorite books. Looked like it was _ABC Bunny_ , again. "Sorry I took so long, bro. Ready for your story?"

"IS THE HUMAN OKAY?" How Pap managed to make it sound like he was overexcited even while half asleep and murmuring, Sans would never know.

"She's going to be fine, bro. Her first semester was rough, that's all." That was one way of putting it.

"MAYBE I SHOULD ENROLL IN COLLEGE. THEN SHE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD FRIEND NEARBY." That wasn't a half bad idea, really. Papyrus would keep her away from the parties, and Frisk could help him study.

"What would you major in?"

"CULINARY ARTS, OF COURSE." Papyrus had apparently already given the idea some thought. College life probably wasn't the best thing for him, however.

"The both of you can't leave for college, who is going to make me food?"

"YOU CAN COOK FOR YOURSELF, LAZY BONES."

"Grillby's all day every day it is."

"SANS."

"Ready for your story?"

"I'VE BEEN WAITING ALL NIGHT."

"All right, all right." He took the well-loved book from Papyrus and turned to the first page. "Wait, I forgot my reading glasses."

"YOU DON'T WEAR GLASSES. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE EARS HOLD THEM UP."

"Sorry, I can't hear you, I don't have any ears."

" _SAAAANS_."

"Tough crowd tonight."

"I'M ALWAYS TOUGH. ESPECIALLY ON HORRIBLE JOKESTERS LIKE YOU."

"Are you going to let me read or not?"

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS?"

He patted his brother's head. "Because that's what brothers are for." He settled in and opened the book again. He had kept Papyrus up long enough.

 _-_ _A for apple, bright and red. B for bunny, snug a bed. C_ _for crash, D for dash, E for Elsewhere in a flash. F for frog, he's fat and funny. "Looks like rain." Says he to bunny-_

Soon, Papyrus was snoring away. They rarely made it to Z ( _for zero, close the book_ ), not from lack of trying on his brother's part. Sans got up quietly, setting the book on the nightstand, and adjusting his brother's blankets one more time. He didn't know what he'd do without his brother. Papyrus could be a handful at times, but without him and Frisk, Sans wasn't sure where, or even who, he would be.

He yawned. That was more than enough introspection for one night. It was time for him to turn in.

* * *

Sans awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He groped around for it blindly before realizing he needed to retrieve it from his desk, as he had actually remembered to plug it in the night before.

"Sup?" He asked groggily, not even having bothered to look at the caller before answering.

"Sans, we can't find Frisk." The Queens's panicked voice greeted him. Now he was awake.  
"What do you mean?"

"She didn't come downstairs for breakfast, and we were going to let her sleep, but when I went to check on her, I couldn't find her anywhere."

"Maybe she went for a walk or something?"

"She didn't leave a note or anything, and she isn't answering her phone."

Frisk was the type to leave a note, especially since her parents were the type to worry. Of course, she had done similar disappearing acts when she was younger and had nightmares.. "I think I know where she might be. I'll call you back in a few, okay?"

Sans dressed quickly, slipping out the back door as not to worry Papyrus. A shortcut later and he found his favorite human right where he expected her to be, dead asleep, nestled in the massive roots of her favorite tree. She had even brought a blanket this time, not that she needed it, as the forest had grown up above Hotland, which kept the area toasty year round.

He texted the queen to let her know the lost princess was safe, settling himself into a small nook next to Frisk, waiting patiently, albeit a bit drowsily, for her to awaken. He sent a text to Papyrus to let him know his own whereabouts, as well as to expect an extra for lunch, before he allowed himself to doze.

* * *

"Sans?" Frisk's soft voice awoke him.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." He replied, without opening his eyes-sockets.

"I did it again, didn't I?"

"Well, I didn't carry you out here."

She sighed. "I probably worried my parents."

"Only a little, but they knew who to call." He opened his eyes to look at her. A concerned little frown had taken over her face. "What brought you out here this time?"

"The usual." Nightmare.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. They had had this conversation many times before, but he wasn't sure if this one was going to end with her telling him.

He got up, deciding not to push it. "Come on, Pap's making tomato soup and grilled cheese." He offered his hand to help her up.

She smiled, taking his offered hand. "My favorite."

"I always had you pegged as more of a cream of celery kind of girl." He teased. Frisk hated cream of anything soups.

"More like cream of keep it away from me." She was still holding his hand.

"Heh, I've never heard of that one."

Frisk took a step forward, faltering a little on the uneven roots in her still drowsy state. Sans pulled her close to him, helping her onto steady ground. His hand rested at her hip for an extra moment before he pulled it away. What was he doing? She was going to notice if he kept this up.

She was having a kid, after all. The last thing she needed was her best friend trying to flirt with her.

"You okay, Sans?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course."

She didn't seem convinced, but she did drop the subject, and they walked through the forest together in silence for some time. Newest Home, the city of monsters, was back in sight and their breath was beginning to get frosty, when Frisk stopped.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"I meant to tell you something, but I forgot." A tiny, nervous smile played at her lips.

"That doesn't work on me."

"Tough luck." There was trepidation in her voice.

"Come on, Princess, enlighten your loyal subject." He teased, her lips playing into a smile.

"Well, fair court jester, it's more of a thing I wanted to ask, really."

"I'm an open book. Just be careful with my spine."

"Well, this is going to sound weird, but you know how Papyrus isn't really interested in dating?"

Oh no. "He already turned you down once, do you really want to try again?"

"No! I mean, Papyrus is lovely, but, uh, I was actually wondering if.." She paused, and Sans wasn't sure what to expect next. "I was wondering if you were the same way?"

He scrambled for the right words as his phone rang, saving him from having to respond. "SANS." Papyrus's voice rang out the second he accepted the call. "GET YOUR LAZY BUTT HOME, IT'S PAST TIME FOR LUNCH."

"We're on our way, bro."

"FINALLY. ASK FRISK HOW MANY SANDWICHES SHE WOULD LIKE."

He looked up at Frisk, who held up one finger in response.

"She says just one, please."

"I'LL MAKE HER TWO, JUST IN CASE."

* * *

 **Fun fact, _ABC Bunny_ was one of my favorite books as a child, so the section from it in this chapter is from memory. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think! Or, if you're rendered speechless by my incredible writing, just drop me a pun in the comments. That would be cool too :)**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	3. Tender Loving Care

**AN: Confession time, I messed up. It doesn't effect what I've already posted, but I found a massive plot hole, so I had to scrap a lot of what I had written past this chapter (some of it I can still use, so I haven't deleted it all), but I've spent the last couple of days reworking some of the plot, and to be honest, I like what I've done. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that my next update might be a little slow in coming, because I had to write the chapter from scratch and I want to make sure it's well edited before posting.**

 **Lastly, you all can thank Undyne the Undying for me posting today, because I decided it was finally time for my genocide run (Papyrus convinced me to give up on my last one), and getting thoroughly wrecked by her drove me to write instead. So if you happen to feel your sings crawling on your back while reading.. well... I'll join you soon.**

* * *

Chapter Three - Tender Loving Care

Frisk heart was still pounding in her chest as she sat down at the table with Papyrus and Sans. What could have possibly possessed her to say that? She was curious about what his answer would be, but the way she had asked, he probably thought she had lost her mind. She probably had lost her mind, but something about the way he had been looking at her lately and..

She had enough problems right now without getting rejected by her best friend, Frisk reminded herself. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her right now, but being pregnant really made her into a mess. She couldn't even be around her best friend without trying to flirt with him, and he probably thought she was desperate or easy or...

She really couldn't handle the thought of that right now.

"HUMAN, ARE YOU FEELING OKAY? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TOUCHED MY SANDWICH CREATION."

Creation was right, it had three different kinds of cheese, as well as sprinkling what seemed to be fresh basil throughout. "It looks lovely Paps, I've just got an upset stomach, and I'm waiting on it to settle."

"LET ME MAKE YOU SOME WARM MILK."

Before she could refuse, Papyrus had all but leapt from the table, and was loudly rummaging around in the fridge.

Sans, on the other hand, was already on his third grilled cheese. She wished she could eat as heartily as he did, but her stomach was bound by human laws, rather than magical ones.

Sans looked up from pulling his sandwich in half for easier soup dunking. "Don't even think for a second I'm letting you get away with skipping lunch, Princess." Now princess was a pet name she could handle, if only because Sans wasn't the only one that referred to her as such. But still, something about the way he said it made her.. no. She was not doing this right now.

She started on her sandwich, rather than try to argue with Sans. It did look good, after all, and it was just the comfort she needed. Good food made nearly everything better, after all. Especially anything made by Papyrus.

Papyrus returned then with a mug of hot milk for her (as well as a napkin for Sans). While she didn't really like warm milk, she accepted it anyway, and took enough sips to appease her worried friend. She felt terrible for worrying him the day before, as she knew he just wanted to help her feel better.

After lunch, the three of them worked together on dishes, and Papyrus made her up a Tupperware container of leftover soup to take home with her. Frisk was never really certain which container belonged to who, with the way they bounced back and forth between Frisk's home and theirs.

"It's not like the queen doesn't feed her, Papyrus." Sans teased, as Papyrus offered to make her some extra sandwiches to go home with the soup.

"YOU JUST WANT ALL OF THE SOUP TO YOURSELF."

Sans looked over at the soup pot, which still held a good gallon or so of soup. "Nah bro, I think we've got plenty here." Papyrus always made things in bulk, and the six gallon soup pot had been a Gyftmas present from Frisk herself.

"HUMAN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME ON MY RUN?" Between Pap calling her human and Sans calling her kid, Frisk didn't know what to do sometimes. What were they going to do when she had a human kid of her own?

"One of your death marches, you mean?" Sans asked.

"FIFTY LAPS IS NOT A DEATH MARCH. IT'S A WARM UP."

"Thanks for the offer, Papyrus, but I think I'll stay here and keep Sans from napping."

"GOOD LUCK WITH THAT."

"So how do you intend to keep me awake?" Sans inquired once Papyrus had left for his jog.

"You still owe me a rematch in Mortal Kombat."

"Oh, it's on."

* * *

"How many times did I beat you?" Sans teased, Frisk having dropped the controller onto her lap to keep herself from throwing it. "Seven? Nope, wait, _definitely_ nine. Or was it ten?" As if he wasn't counting.

"Quiet, you." She replied, batting at him with her foot. "One more time." She grabbed her controller. "Let's just get to the point." She complained, skipping through everything to restart the match.

Of course, he beat her again.

"You look frustrated, Frisk." Sans gloated as she screamed in exasperation. Did he have to be such a sore winner?

"I'm going to get you for this." She threatened.

Sans leaned back, looking up at her from his seat on the floor. "That's what you said last time. _And_ the time before -"

Frisk hit him with one of the decorative couch pillows.

Soon, they were running through the house, throwing pillows (and the occasional bone) at each other and giggling. She was hiding behind the doorway to the kitchen, trying to hide her heavy breathing as she waited to strike, when she felt a spark of magic snake around her ankles and flip her upside down, the pillow flying out of her grasp. "No fair!" She screeched, holding her shirt up with one hand as she tried to stop Sans from ticking her with the other. She felt her phone vibrate and then slide out of her pants pocket, hitting the ground with a thud as she gave up on defending and went straight for the offensive, both hands going straight for his lower vertebrae, where she knew he was the most ticklish.

He dropped to the ground almost instantly, unable to withstand her counterattack. "Looks like I gotcha." She gasped, as Sans lay on the floor, giggling. Her shirt slid off of her head and down around her wrists, and her arms having grown too heavy to lift, she let it drop to the floor.

"You win this round." Sans wheezed, clutching his ribs.

"SANS! FRISK! I'M HOME AND I BROUGHT - WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" Papyrus' voice startled her. She hadn't even heard him come in. "HUMAN WHY ARE YOU UNDRESSED? SANS, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

"Tickle war, bro." Sans replied, looking up at Papyrus from the floor.

"Is that what they're calling it now?" Frisk heard her Mom's voice, and did her best to twist around to find her, managing to upset her stomach in the process.

"Heh- Hello, Your Majesty." Sans turned a very bright blue, and Frisk realized what things probably looked like.

"Hi, Mom." Frisk said sheepishly, trying to ignore the tightening in her chest.

"Sans, would you mind putting my daughter down? You'll make her sick like that."

"Of- of course." He let her go instantly, and as Frisk realized she was headed straight for the ground, Sans realized his mistake, quickly making her entirely blue in order to set her down gently " _Whoops_.. Sorry, kiddo."

As Frisk quickly pulled her shirt on and returned her phone to her pocket (she had missed a call from her mother), the headache hit her. Hard. She curled up, setting her head between her knees and groaning in pain.

"SANS! YOU BROKE THE HUMAN AGAIN."

"She just got a headache from all the blood rushing to her head." Her mom explained gently to Papyrus as she knelt beside Frisk. "Would you like me to heal you, my child?"

Frisk shook her head no, and immediately regretted the movement. The last time her mother tried to heal her, Frisk had grown fur that took months to shed (which would have been nice in winter, but it had been mid-July). It seemed that magical healing worked best on children.

"I CAN GET YOU SOME WEENIE TABLETS." Papyrus offered. She groaned a little, he was so loud.

"Weenie tablets?" The queen asked, confused.

"It's what Undyne calls painkillers." Sans explained. "Go ahead and get her some, bro."

"And a cold compress, if you would." Her mother added. "Would you like me to take you home so you can rest?"

"No." She murmured. She really didn't want to have to move. "This spot on the floor is nice."

Her mother sighed. "Assuming what you two were doing was simply roughhousing, you need to remember that you can't play as hard as a monster can."

" _I know_." Frisk groaned. She had heard the lecture before.

"And Sans, it would do you well to remember that as well."

"Yes ma'am." Sans replied. "We'll ah, try to not get so _frisky_ in the future."

" _ **SANS**_!" Papyrus yelled. It felt like he was yelling right in her ear.

"Papyrus, inside voice, please." Her mother said, her voice soft and soothing.

"IS THIS BETTER?" Papyrus said, softer, but still loud in terms of energy.

"Try talking with your hands, bro." Sans suggested. The two of them were fluent in sign language, and had successfully endeavored to teach Frisk as well.

Soon, Frisk was set up on the couch with a cold compress over her eyes.

"Papyrus wants to know if you'd like something to eat." Sans said softly. He was perched on the floor, near her head.

"Her father and I were actually planning on taking her out for dinner." Her mother said.

"No Papyrus, I don't think they were going to take her to Grillby's." Sans said. "The King and Queen have the same weird standards that you do."

Frisk stuck out her tongue. 'I like Grillby's.' she signed into Sans' palm.

'I knew we were friends for a reason.' He signed back, his fingers curling around hers once he was done. She was certain that he was just leaving her the opportunity to respond, but..

"We have reservations at En Pointe, in the next town over." Her mother explained, and Frisk groaned softly. If she went, her parents would probably ask her about what had been bothering her, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell them. She would have to eventually, but the idea made her increasingly anxious.

"Frisk says she'll take a rain check, but you and the Dadster should go have fun." Sans said. Which was not what Frisk had said, in fact, she hadn't said anything, but she wasn't going to complain.

"If you're sure, dear." Her mom sounded kind-of hurt, but Frisk wasn't exactly feeling up to fine dining. In fact, she was starting to feel a little nauseated.

Make that a lot nauseated.

"Sans, you're in the splash zone." She warned aloud, which was a poor choice with the bile rising in her throat. As if by magic (to be honest, it was by magic) a wastebasket appeared in her hands just in time. She felt a tickle on the back of her neck, blue magic holding back her hair.

"My child, are you all right?"

"I'm swearing off tomato soup for a while." Frisk murmured, her forehead against the cool metal rim of the wastebasket.

* * *

Frisk had no idea how Papyrus and Sans had accomplished it, especially considering the scene her mother had walked in on, but they had convinced her to leave Frisk in their care for the night. For the moment though, she was alone with Sans, her mother having left to go pack her an overnight bag, and Papyrus on a 'short' run with Undyne and Alphys.

"How are you feeling?" Sans asked , switching out her cold compress.

"Really gross."

"Sorry I made you sick."

"I don't think it was your fault. I didn't get my usual morning sickness this morning, so it was only a matter of time."

"Morning sickness?"

More like all the time sickness. "Comes with my current… condition."

"How far along are you, anyway?"

"Seven weeks." She replied, surprised she was able to talk about it without panicking like she had the night before. It got easier with time, she supposed.

"Human gestation period is nine months, right?" He sat on the arm of the couch beside her head.

"Give or take." Her stomach was warm beneath her hands. "I just, I-I don't know if I can do it. Be a mom, I mean. I really do want to keep it, but I can barely take care of myself, let alone a kid." She paused as her headache started pounding again.

Sans put his hand on her forehead, a little trickle of magic easing her pain.

"Careful, I don't need an exposed skull."

"I think it would be cute." He teased.

"I'll get you an x-ray."

" _Ohh_. Risqué."

She didn't know what to do with him sometimes. "Sans, oh my god."

"I'm just messing with you. Once you've seen one skeleton, you've seen them all. Anyway, what are you so worried about, baby-wise?"

"I don't know, it's a huge responsibility. They're expensive and cry a lot… but they're also really sweet and cute. Like I really didn't want it at first, but the more I thought having an abortion I.." And putting it up for adoption was out of the question. Having ran away from her third overcrowded foster home when she climbed Mt. Ebott, Frisk wasn't about to give her kid up. "I just don't know if I can do it alone."

"You won't be alone, you've got all of us. Do you think we're going to ditch you just because you have a kid?"

It wasn't what she had meant, but it did make her feel better. She felt bad for burdening him with her problems all the time, but he was such a good listener. "Nah, I'm sure that Pap and Undyne will outdo themselves trying to help me take care of it. And my parents are pretty good with kids too." Of course, their track record wasn't the greatest, but she wouldn't hold it against them.

"Is there any chance of the kid's dad being in the picture?"

"I haven't even told him. I.. I _really_ don't want anything to do with him." The last time she had seen him, he was making some of the worst jokes about monsters she had ever heard. She was not about to let her child grow up around someone like that.

"I'm sure you have your reasons." He sounded almost.. relieved? But maybe it was just her imagination. She was good at reading too much into things. "And for the record, I think you'll make a pretty good mom."

"Thanks, Sans." That really meant a lot. It wasn't the easiest thing she would ever do, but she had fought with (and spared) gods, not to mention helping lead the monster race from the underground. How hard could parenthood be?

* * *

 **Dear readers, I think we should get to know each other better. So, in case you don't feel like raving about how great my fic is in your review, I'd like to know which Undertale character you identify most with (and why, if you care to share).**

 **I'll go first, I identify most with Sans, not only because I cover up my own nihilistic depression with jokes and naps, but because my little bro (he's nine and a solid foot and a half shorter than me) has decided that I am the Sans to his Papyrus - he even calls me lazy bones. Your turn :)**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	4. Taking Care of Frisk-ness

**AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews on the last chapter, I really enjoyed reading about your own personal connections to the characters. Thanks for sharing, guys :) I promise I won't ask questions at the end of every chapter, but it might be a thing I do occasionally, because I enjoyed seeing the responses :)**

 **Also, I know I said that this chapter might take a while, but since I'll be spending the weekend with my lovely sister and her beautiful two month old daughter (who takes after me, of course), as well as spending the week with my S/O (hopefully), I figured I'd finish this chapter and allow myself a tiny little break from my laptop. So don't miss me too much guys :)**

* * *

Chapter Four – Taking Care of Frisk-ness

Sans left Frisk to doze on the couch, Papyrus having asked him for help making 'sickness fighting' food. Papyrus didn't really understand that a migraine wasn't a sickness, but he let his brother be. Taking care of the people he cared about was what Pap did best, after all.

"I don't know if she can handle much more than like, chicken noodle soup right now, bro." Sans said, trying to haggle his brother down from making something complex.

"I SHALL CREATE THE BEST CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP EVER."

"Simple foods, bro. Like, minimal spices." He couldn't help but recall the first time Frisk was sick. The three of them had gone trick or treating, and both Frisk and Pap had eaten all of their candy in the span of like, half an hour, and Pap decided to help by making chili that was mostly just a blend of spicy peppers because he had the idea in his skull that strongly flavored food would scare off her tummy ache.

"THAT SOUNDS TERRIBLE. BAD TASTING FOOD WON'T HELP HER GET WELL." Sweet, impressionable Pap. He _really_ needed to stop taking life advice from Undyne.

"She's got a tummy ache. Not the plague. A simple can of chicken noodle would probably do her good. Maybe some crackers."

"CANNED SOUP IS LAZY."

"You know how the best way to get well when you're sick is to get extra sleep?"

"UNFORTUNETLY."

"Laziness fights sickness. Therefore, lazy foods are great for when you don't feel well."

"YOU PROBABLY HAVE A POINT. YOU MUST BE SICK ALL THE TIME THEN. HEARTSICK, THAT IS. NYEH-HEH-HEH."

"Heartsick? I don't even have a heart."

"FRISK MUST HAVE STOLEN IT THEN."

If it was obvious enough for Papyrus to notice, it had to be bad. And unlike earlier, his timing was terrible. "Heh, good one, Papyrus. Best joke I've heard from you in a while.." He chuckled nervously. He had tried to keep his sad attempts at flirting down to a minimum, but he had missed Frisk more than anything. Now he was going to pay for it.

"ALPHYS SAID IF YOU TWO DIDN'T KISS ALREADY SHE WAS GOING TO WRITE A FANFICTION ABOUT IT."

Sans made a mental note to murder Alphys. _After_ he reminded her that she wasn't allowed to write fanfiction about real people. "You're all turning into real comedians on me." God, he hoped Frisk was still sleeping. "Anyway, why don't you run to the store for me, Papyrus? I'll write you a list.."

Nervous sparks crackled orange on San's hands as he searched for something to write on. Alphys really had _no_ idea how dead she was. Of course, he really should have known something was up when Pap said he was going on a run with the both of them. Alphys was as much of a runner as Pap was a secret keeper, after all.

* * *

After dispatching Papyrus to the store, and texting Alphys that she had better start deciding which of her anime figurines she wanted her dust scattered on, Sans crept into the living room to see if Frisk was still sleeping.

She appeared to be, her chest rising and falling slowly, and not appearing to have moved since Sans had been in the kitchen. "Hey Frisk?" he whispered, looking down at her. "You awake?"

Her breathing caught for a moment, but otherwise, she didn't stir. He sat on the floor by her head, sighing in relief. He knew she was a heavy sleeper, which was definitely a blessing with Papyrus around.

He pulled his knees to his chest, leaning back against the couch. The sound of her breathing soothed his nerves. If she was going to find out how he felt, he was at least going to tell her himself, dammit. And not because the meddling nerds decided it was time, either.

Truth be told, however, he had been planning on telling her how he felt. He had even maybe mentioned to Alphys that he was thinking about it, but this whole thing with her having a kid, well.. she probably didn't want someone as irresponsible as him trying to crash into her life right now.

The question she had asked him this morning though, what had that been about? Of course, she asked a lot of questions as to how he and Papyrus worked (especially when she was younger and so curious about everything), and he had often asked similar questions of her, but this one in particular, well.. it was hard to write off as casual curiosity.

"Sans?" Frisk's voice drew him out of his reverie, her hand resting on his shoulder.

"How are you feeling?"

"I had a weird dream, it woke me up."

"What about?" She really had been sleeping.

"Can monsters and humans have kids together?"

"I'm not sure." If he hadn't just texted Alphys a death threat, he would have asked her. "Who are you making babies with now?" The joke was out of his mouth before he had the chance to realize that it was maybe a little too soon for that. Hopefully she was still too drowsy to notice.

"Mnm.. _Tiny_ little baby bones." She seemed to have misheard him, but he was starting to wonder if she was coherent, or talking in her sleep again.

He decided to humor her. "If they grow up to be tall and dorky, they're Pap's."

"I'll remember that."

"You still sound exhausted. Go back to sleep."

"Mmkay." Soon she was snoring softly. It was hard not to fall in love with someone who could nap as hard as he did.

* * *

Papyrus returned from the store having disregarded the list Sans had written, but he didn't expect any less. Papyrus had decided that spaghetti would be the best to make Frisk feel better. Since it wasn't 'apparently creatures with no stomach _can_ throw up' chili, he decided to let it go.

Frisk stumbled into the kitchen. "Can I help?"

"YOU CAN DICE THE ONIONS. JUST DON'T LET THEM MAKE YOU CRY."

"It's not my fault they always pick on me." Frisk replied. She walked over to the cutting board, then glanced around the kitchen, confused. "Where are the knives?"

"Knife block is over by the sink." Sans replied, looking up from the clove of garlic he was trying to peel. His kingdom for fingernails. "Wait, can we trade jobs?" If she was too drowsy to remember where the knives were kept in a kitchen she had spent half of her life in, then she probably didn't need to be using any.

"WAIT, YOU'RE STILL SICK. GO BACK AND LIE DOWN."

"Can I at least sit in here with you guys?"

"You must be feeling pretty _bone_ -ly if you want our company."

"It's hard being the only _body_ around." She replied, sitting down next to him.

"NOT YOU TOO, HUMAN."

"Come on bro, don't be so _marrow_ minded."

"SANS."

"Why do you have to be so _stern_ um, Pap, these puns are _sans_ ational." Frisk giggled, giving Sans a high five.

After being kicked out of the kitchen, Sans and Frisk decided to curl up on the couch and watch Pokémon. Of course, they had already seen the entire original series, or at least, Frisk had. Sans had napped through most of it, and things didn't seem to be going any differently this time. She had just dropped a pillow and her head into his lap when he felt himself getting sleepy. Kicked back with Frisk warm against his side, it was _so_ naptime.

"I HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU TWO ARE SINGLE BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO DATE." Papyrus' voice awoke him sometime later. Judging by the rich garlicky smell, it was suppertime.

"I thought it was because Sans doesn't have the _guts_ to ask any _body_." Frisk teased.

"What's your excuse then?" He poked her side. A weak comeback, but she had gotten him good.

"I HAD HOPED THAT YOU WOULD BE LESS PUNNY AFTER A NAP, BUT I SEEM TO BE MISTAKEN."

"Maybe we've caught a case of a-pun-dicitits." He said, earning him a giggle from Frisk.

"I HOPE IT'S NOT CONTAGIOUS."

"Come here bro, and we can test your hy-pun-thesis." He stuck out his tongue, or at least, his cobalt blue mockery of one.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LICK ME, ARE YOU? SANS, YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT GERMS."

"Come here Pap, I'll keep you safe." Frisk sat up and threw out her arms, and Papyrus leaned down to give her a hug.

"THANK YOU HUMAN, I KNEW I COULD TRUST- NOOOOO." Frisk had kissed his forehead. Papyrus flopped onto his back on the floor. "HUMAN KISSES! MY ONLY WEAKNESS!" It must run in the family.

"I think I broke him."

"I SEE YOU ARE STILL HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS."

"You never did help me find second best, you know."

"I MIGHT HAVE AN OPTION FOR YOU. NYEH-HEH-HEH." Pap was going to be the death of him one of these days.

"Do I smell something burning?" Sans changed the subject quickly.

"MY GARLIC KNOTS!"

* * *

After supper, they had decided to watch a movie and surprisingly, Sans had managed to stay awake through the first half of 'Beauty and the Beast', and was hoping to actually get to see how it ended when a yawn overtook him. So much for that, then. He leaned his head against his brother's shoulder.

"YOU CAN SLEEP IN MY BED, FRISK. I'LL TAKE THE COUCH." Papyrus asked. Apparently she was getting droopy eyed, too, which was surprising for how much she had slept today.

"She can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch, Pap. You're too long to sleep on it."

"WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOUR SHEETS WERE WASHED?"

"Three days ago. I remember distinctly because you almost put _me_ in the washer with them."

"IT WASN'T A MISTAKE."

He heard Frisk giggle from the other side of the great wall of Papyrus.

"I had already had one shower that day, I promise I didn't need another one."

"YOU SMELLED LIKE GREASE."

"Someone had to change the oil in Grillby's car, and it not safe for him to do it."

"So that's how you pay your tab." Frisk said sleepily.

"Come on, Princess, looks like it _pasta_ bed time."

"Can we make a big bed in the living room, like we used to when we were little?"

That required moving their mattresses downstairs, but what else was magic for? "How's about it, Pap?"

"WILL YOU STILL READ ME A STORY?"

"I will read you both a story."

After setting up their nest on the floor of the living room, Sans snuggled in between Papyrus and Frisk with the story they had chosen. Frisk was half asleep before he even started reading, curled up on her side and not even looking at the pictures, but Papyrus managed to stay up for the majority of it, before his eye-sockets drooped and he too fell asleep.

Setting the book above his head, Sans lie awake for a few moments, just content to bask in the warm closeness of his two favorite people, but it wasn't long before the gentle sound of their breathing lulled him into what could possibly be the best sleep of his life.

* * *

 **I didn't get to put this in the actual story, but at the end he's in a _sans_ wich. **

**Dear readers, and especially those among you who are artists, I hate to ask, but this fic needs some cover art. So if you happen to have made something that you don't mind sharing, or have been inspired by this fic to make some arts, please let me know. I'll be sure to credit you and maybe even make you something in return, if you'd like. :)**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	5. When You Play the Game of Confessions

**AN: I seriously cannot handle how awesome you guys are right now. Not only have all of you been awesomely supportive of this fic, but also so many of you made art for me (which is all saved on my phone and laptop to look upon and squee at because I'm so proud – like I can't thank you guys enough). Anyway, since I got more art than expected, I've decided to let you guys vote upon which one should be the cover art. I think one person is still working on theirs (and if anyone else wants to draw some, please let me know), so I'm going to wait a bit, and then post links to the artwork (which will live on my author page forever as a thank you to you all, if that's okay) and a poll on my author page for you guys. I'll let you know when the poll is live.**

 **Anyway, mini life update: My niece is the most precious thing ever. Also, my sister thought it would be funny to get me drunk and watch me fight (game spoilers) Sans (because I finally beat Undyne), and I definitely went on a weird rant about the… 'alternative' uses of blue magic that I've read / maybe even tried to write about. So sins crawling on my back x2, I guess. Also, my brother in law learned that I love puns (and he REALLY loves puns) so I've got so many more for this fic now.**

 **Sorry for the novel of an author's note (again). Here's the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Five – When You Play the Game of Confessions

Frisk woke up to find Sans curled up around her, his breath warm in her hair and his fingers entwined with hers upon her stomach. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to let on that she was awake, when he murmured and shifted, pulling her closer to him. She exhaled softly, perfectly content in his arms. She could get used to waking up like this.

"God, they're so cute." She heard Alphys whisper. When had she gotten here? Now she really couldn't let on that she was awake, Alphys would never let her hear the end of it. "Let them sleep, Papyrus, at least till Undyne gets here."

"THEY SLEEP ALL THE TIME."

Sans murmured at the sound of his brother's voice, burying his head into her neck. She wasn't sure how he breathed through all her hair, but then again, she wasn't exactly sure how he breathed at all.

Alphys shushed him. "Do you need any help with breakfast?" Pap had probably invited them over. Some warning would have been nice, but it was Papyrus.

They padded into the kitchen, Alphys telling Papyrus something about Undyne having an early morning session with a client (she was a physical trainer, and a pretty good one when she wasn't pushing people too hard).

Frisk relaxed, allowing herself a couple more moments of contentment before she'd get up. Maybe she could save a little face with her friends before Sans awoke.

She heard Sans murmur something that sounded a lot like her name, before suddenly pulling away from her. " _Frisk_. Uh, heya.. kiddo.." He sat up quickly. So much for that.

"Morning." She murmured, terrified that the blush rising in her cheeks would give away the fact that she had been awake. She rolled over and opened her eyes to see a light glow of blue had crept into Sans' pale cheekbones. He was so cute when he was embarrassed.

Now that wasn't helping.

"Sorry if I ah – heh, Pap must have pushed us together or something.."

Frisk sat up, nervously running a hand through her hair. "Heh, yeah, he's a bit of a bed hog..." That had to be what happened, right? Besides, they snuggled all the time, it was perfectly fine. No need to get embarrassed, it wasn't like he was murmuring her name in his sleep or anything-

"DON'T BLAME YOUR CUDDLES ON ME." Frisk turned around to see Papyrus and Alphys watching them from the kitchen. Frisk felt all the heat in her body blaze from her cheeks. Alphys already knew about her crush, but if Papyrus had any inkling that they should be together, then it was only a matter of time before he tried to do something about it. "YOU TWO CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM EACH OTHER. IT'S KINDA GROSS." Alphys elbowed him, hissing something Frisk couldn't hear.

"Heh, _really_ funny, bro..."

She looked back at Sans' blushing cheeks. She had always assumed that he didn't feel the same way about her, but with the way he and Papyrus had been acting lately, well… it made a lot of sense.

Only, why did this have to be happening now? Why couldn't it have happened before she left for college, or when she came home on weekends, or any other time except _**now**_? Now that she was pregnant and hopeless and really didn't need to be entertaining romantic notions about anybody, let alone Sans. He really, really didn't need her issues in his life. No matter how good he was at handling things, this was something she had to do on her own.

"Frisk?" Sans put his hand on her knee. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I.. I'm fine." She really could not handle this right now.

"You don't look so good. Maybe a hot shower will help?"

That didn't sound like such a bad idea. Some time to think, for Alphys to get over giggling about what she had walked in on. "Yeah. That sounds nice."

* * *

Frisk lay her head against the wall of the shower, listening to the boys crash around the kitchen. She heard the familiar noise of Sans' blasters going off, smiling a little at how childish the two of them were with their magic sometimes, blowing everything up into a full on battle.

She took a deep breath, wishing she could let off steam the way they did, casting spells until they were too exhausted to remember what had upset them. Things would be easier that way.

She had been acting so stupid lately; she had more to worry about than herself right now, and the way she had been acting around Sans was nothing short of grossly immature. She was usually so much more intelligent than this, but her mental state had just been a roller coaster lately, and between the way he always was and the current mess of anxiety and emotions she was lately, she just couldn't hold back around him.

She was having a kid, she needed to take responsibility, focus. Chasing stupid crushes has gotten her into this mess, after all.

And if Sans did have feelings for her, which she would have given anything for a few months ago, she couldn't make this his problem. It wasn't his kid, after all.

Turning off the shower, she grabbed the towel of the rack, taking her time to get dressed. The crashing from the kitchen continued, and Frisk thought she heard the crackling, pinging sound of Alphys' electricity magic joining the fray.

She looked about the small bathroom for a hairbrush, before realizing how likely it was to find one in a house inhabited by skeletons. She finger-combed her long locks to the best of her ability, trying to find the confidence to face her friends. She was going to have to tell them before this mess got any worse, before they tried to get her and Sans together. This ended before anyone had the chance to get hurt.

She wished she could say she was filled with determination, but it really seemed to be lacking in that department lately.

Walking into the kitchen, she couldn't help but giggle at the predicament her friends had gotten themselves in. Papyrus - who was pinned to the fridge - had Sans suspended in the air by one foot, and Alphys was backed into a corner by three of Sans blasters - their mouths stuffed by the same yellow magic that crackled around Sans' hands, rendering him unable to direct or summon any more attacks.

It was actually pretty pleasing to see her favorite sore winner trussed up this way. Two against one was hardly fair, but..

"I can't leave you guys alone for five minutes, can I?" She said to them.

"Hey, it's been at least fifteen minutes." Sans defended.

There was a loud knock on the door following by an even louder Undyne slamming it open. "GOOD MORNING NERDS!" She called, stomping through the house into the kitchen.

"GOOD MORNING!" Papyrus replied in kind.

"Sans, I've got a bone to pick with you." Undyne pointed a spear at Sans' exposed ribcage, his shirt having fallen over his head.

"Well I've got plenty." Sans replied, his voice muffled. "So go ahead and pick one."

"You threatened to kill my girlfriend." Undyne accused. So that was what the blasters were for.

"Your girlfriend threatened to write fanfiction about Frisk and me."

"You did?" Frisk looked over at Alphys, who was turning orange around the cheeks.

"I.. uh.. may have made a joke about it at some point.." She stammered.

This was really getting out of hand. "Guys, we need to talk."

"Actually, that's why Undyne and I are here." Alphys replied, struggling to keep her hold over the blasters. Of course, they were harmless to monsters, but it wasn't like Alphys was going to give up that easily.

Her friends definitely did things to the extreme.

"WE'RE HOLDING AN INTERVENTION."

Some days it was more endearing than others…

"Can we at least do this maturely? Drop your weapons, guys."

They started arguing over who should let who go first. She should have known better.

"GUYS." She shouted, doing her best to channel her mother's ability to quiet a room. They all turned to look at her. "Let's play the confession game." They did this every time they got into messes like this, (which was, not surprisingly, often). She took a deep breath, deciding to go for broke. "I.." Maybe not _completely_ for broke. "Alphys, you go first."

"Frisk and Sans is my new OTP, so I reserve the right to write fanfiction about them until it becomes canon. Sans, your turn."

"I uh… I don't…" His grey shirt lit up with blue light

"Play by the rules, nerd." Undyne threatened, poking him her spear.

"You can't write fanfiction about real people."

"A real confession." She poked him again.

"You really want to get to the _point_ , don't you?"

"SANS. CONFESS YOUR FEELINGS ALREADY."

"Fine… I.. I may have feelings for Frisk." He said quietly. "Your turn, Pap."

"WHILE I KNOW THAT SANS ISN'T EXACTLY SECOND BEST TO ME, I STILL THINK THAT HE AND FRISK WOULD BE REALLY GOOD FOR EACH OTHER."

Frisk sighed. It was really going to be like this, wasn't it? "Guys we, um, Sans and me can't be together." That was not the best way to put it.

"WHY NOT? YOU TWO LOOK AT EACH OTHER THE SAME WAY THE PEOPLE IN ALPHY'S MOVIES DO." Precious, innocent Papyrus.

"Those are movies, Pap, it's different in real life." Could she lie? It would be so much easier if she lied. "I.. I just like him as a friend." She said quickly, hoping they'd believe her.

"Can we not do this right now, guys?" Sans asked, sounding defeated. So much for not hurting anyone.

"Frisk, we both know you're lying." Dammit, Alphys. Could she tell that this was not the time? Her friends were so oblivious sometimes, she just wanted to scream.

"It's.. it's complicated, guys. I really don't want to talk about this right now." Frisk said through gritted teeth, knowing full well that she wasn't getting out of this situation without explaining things fully.

This was really not how she wanted to tell her friends that she was pregnant. This was especially not how she wanted to hear Sans confess his feelings for her. But of course, she had fucked everything up. Maybe if she had been more confident, maybe if she had told them all at dinner the other night, maybe if she learned how to fucking say no…

"I call confession withholding!" Undyne exclaimed, even though she hadn't even confessed anything herself.

"Fuck it. Fine. I'll tell you guys." She looked around the room. Sans swinging back and forth from being pushed by Undyne, Alphys starting to sweat as her magic wore down, Papyrus still pinned to the fridge. "Yes, I do like Sans. I like him an awful lot, like an insanely stupid amount, like you can all probably tell. Like Alphys _knows_ , thanks a lot." She wasn't sure if she was angrier at herself or her friends, or just the whole stupid situation. "But I'm a bit of a idiot and decided to get pregnant rather than learn anything this semester, so-" If she was doing this, they could all _at least_ let go of each other, before someone got hurt. "Will you all just drop your damn weapons so we can talk like _normal_ people?"

The next few moments were a blur of motion. She wasn't sure who let go of who first, or who yelled, or exactly when Alphys' hold over Sans and his blasters had worn out, or even why Papyrus didn't let go of Sans more carefully, but as Sans threw out his arm to catch himself as he tumbled to the ground, his blasters followed his unintentional command, and Frisk found herself suddenly facing down three mercilessly bright beams of magic.

* * *

" _ **FRISK**_ **!** "

…

 _"_ _ **I DIDN'T MEAN TO DROP YOU, SANS, I-** "_

…

" _It's just a little crack… I'll heal. Is Frisk okay?_ "

…

" _You and those fucking blasters, Sans._ "

…

" _Frisk, can you hear me?_ "

…

" _Sans, you can't fall asleep with a concussion_."

…

" _We're going to take you to the hospital, Frisk, okay?_ "

…

" _There's not a mark on her, Sans, that's impossible._ "

…

" _Heya, Frisk_? _I guess you're probably still asleep, but_.."

* * *

 **AN: Alternative titles for this chapter included 'Gaster Blaster Disaster' (or 'Gaster Blaster Master Caster Disaster', for those of you who know what comic I'm referring to) and 'A Bad Time' (like I literally meant like a bad time to have the conversation/intervention and then laughed when I realized what I had done). I'm a terrible person, but, plot. Anyway..**

 **Before anyone points it out, yes, I know, Sans only has one HP. Trust me, I know. But that is (spoilers, like this whole fic isn't spoilers) genocide run Sans, and I like to think that pacifism Sans (especially several years after the fact) might have a little more HoPe, you know?**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	6. All is Soon Forgiven

**AN: Since you all are being so lovely and spoiling me with reviews, favorites, and art (and to the people still working on said art, please take your time, I don't mind waiting in the least, especially because so many of you are doing back to school things - forgive this poor drop-out for not realizing this), I felt like I needed to make it up to you all by not making you wait to see the aftermath of the last chapter. The problem is that this chapter was a mess, and now it is a well-edited mess (again, there's only so many times you can rewrite/edit a chapter). Guilt is not my forte, but I think I finally accomplished something worth reading in the end. And we all learn somehow, right?**

* * *

 **Chapter Six – All is Soon Forgiven**

Sans wasn't sure where or when he got his Gaster Blasters, why he knew that they were called that, or even why their magic only worked on humans, but he knew that they were good for two things; one, firing bright lights at his friends when they sparred, and two, rending human souls from their bodies in what he could only assume to be an extremely painful way.

Suffice to say, he was _extremely_ surprised to see that Frisk had survived. Relieved, grateful, forever in eternal prayer to the powers that be that she hadn't been hurt in the slightest, but also, yes, surprised. Pleasantly, increasingly, eternally surprised. He had expected a puddle of blood or ash with a glowing, close to shattering soul when he opened his eyes. Instead, he found Frisk, his beautiful, determined Frisk, completely unharmed. Unconscious, to the point of collapsing the moment the beams stopped, but without a mark of any kind upon her.

That meant one of three things. One, that Frisk had become a monster. That, Sans decided, was highly unlikely, considering the fact that he had just watched the doctors check her soul, and it was red and determined as always. Two, that she had finally learned how to make save points, but Sans would have felt it if she had changed something... and as far as he knew, despite her high determination, she had never learned how. The third, well, he didn't have time to think about that as the King and Queen made their way across the waiting room towards him.

In fact, he could only think of one thing. When the King had hired him a sentry, specifically the one who was _supposed to_ man the last corridor and murder humans on sight to make sure that the king never had to carry out his own decrees, one thing had made him stand out. The blasters.

And Sans really, really hoped that the King had never told the Queen about them.

" _What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Child_."

Sans couldn't even describe the expression on the Queen's face. He also couldn't bring himself to speak, let alone beg for mercy.

He didn't even deserve mercy, Frisk was lucky to be alive.

"Sans. I am going to ask you one more time. What did you do to my child?"

Of course this happened while everyone else was in with room with Frisk. Of course he felt too terrible to go in and see her. Of course this was when the king and queen arrived, and of course this was all his fault. He had more sins than back and her gaze kept adding more.

"Tori, dear, I'm sure it was an accident." The King gave him far more mercy than he deserved, putting his paw on the Queen's shoulder. Sans was surprised it didn't burst into flame.

"I'm sure it was. I'm sure you were roughhousing, weren't you?"

He managed a small nod. His bones of his hands were shaking out of place, orange sparks pinging at a greater velocity than he had ever endured. He had heard a rumor once that the Queen's real magical power was the ability to make someone feel oppressively guilty, and since Sans hadn't previously believed that he could feel any worse about what he had done, he was really starting to believe it.

"And I'm very certain that I told you yesterday that she can't roughhouse the way that you can. And I'm undeniably certain that your magic got out of your control, and therefore, the reason why I was called out of an extremely important diplomatic meeting, to find out that the monster that I entrusted the safety of my daughter to cannot even be bothered to aim his attacks, let alone avoid using the most dangerous power he has around a defenseless human."

He knew two things. One, that he would be lucky to survive what the queen was going to do to him, and two, that Papyrus had been the one to tell the queen what had happened, and she was going out of her way to make him feel terrible – which he fully deserved.

Of course, if Sans survived the Queen, he wasn't sure what he was going to do with himself.

"Tori.." The king started, but the Queens gaze silenced him as well as it had Sans.

Sans decided to do the only think he knew how to do. "Uh, knock knock?"

"This is not the time for jokes." She looked at him, softening a little. "Who is there?"

"Allison." This was probably the worst joke in his arsenal.

"Allison who?"

"All-ison forgiven?"

The queen sighed, her sharp demeanor melting away. Mostly. "Is she okay?"

That, he believed he could answer. "She's perfectly fine. They're just running a few tests for the baby-" He shut his mouth so quickly he was afraid he teeth would crack.

" _Baby_?"

Frisk was never going to forgive him for this.

* * *

It wasn't until later that night until all the emotions of the day hit him. He was all cuddled up with Pap, ready to read him a bedtime story, when suddenly he was blubbering into his brother's shoulder blades. Frisk was fine, dammit, her and the baby both, but here he was anyway, liquid magic dripping from his eye sockets in blue and orange flashes like he was some sort of deranged disco ball.

Sans really hated crying. Especially in front of Papyrus. He was supposed to be the one looking after him, after all. The way he was supposed to look after Frisk, but apparently he was just going to fail on both accounts.

At least he could shoot his damned blasters at Papyrus without him ending up in the emergency room.

Papyrus head butted him gently, nuzzling the top of his skull against Sans' cheekbones. Pap wasn't often quiet, but when he was it was sometimes the most comforting thing in the world. He had really been a terrible brother all day, getting grumpy at Papyrus for little things and choosing to go to Grillby's rather than eat dinner with him. And still his sweet, precious little brother had taken it all in stride and forgiven him.

Of course, he wasn't really sure who the older brother was, as they had been the exact same for as far back as he could remember, but he had always felt a protective pull towards Papyrus. He was innocent and sweet, and Sans knew he had to be strong for him.

But tonight, Pap seemed to be the strong one. And he was just going to have to deal with it.

He really wasn't sure what he was crying about, to be honest. The queen had torn into him pretty deep, and he was pretty sure he was never going to get over the fear that he had murdered Frisk, but his emotional turmoil aside, he really didn't feel like he had the right to cry. And that only made it worse.

"SANS."

"Yeah, bro?" He sniffled.

"I KNOW YOU ARE VERY UPSET, BUT I FEEL THE NEED TO EXPLAIN SOME FEELINGS."

"Go for it, Pap."

"WELL, I FEEL LIKE YOU ARE TAKING ALL THE BLAME FOR FRISK ALMOST GETTING HURT. AND I KNOW THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ACCIDENTALLY AIMED AT HER IF I HADN'T DROPPED YOU."

Had Papyrus been thinking about this all day while he had been feeling sorry for himself? He was _really_ the worst brother ever. "Paps." He looked up at his brother, glowing his eye blue to match his brother's orange ones. It helped a little, it always did. "You light up my life, bro."

Papyrus was quiet. This time it wasn't comforting,

"Paps, this was not your fault."

"BUT YOU WERE JUST TRYING TO KEEP FROM GETTING HURT, AND THAT WAS MY FAULT."

"Accidents happen, bro. I should have known to dissipate my blasters when she entered the room." He used to, when she was little, but he had gotten overly confident in his abilities. "Besides, I was the one that started the fight, not you."

"ALPHYS AND ME WERE TEASING YOU."

"So? I tease you two all the time."

"SANS."

"Yeah, bro?"

"I'M SORRY."

"You haven't done anything wrong, okay?"

"I JUST FEEL BAD, BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING SO HARSH ON YOURSELF."

"I'm always hard on myself Pap, you know me. I'll be okay." He was better than he used to be, but something like this, he was beyond rattled.

"I WANT YOU TO FORGIVE YOURSELF FOR THIS."

"I-I'll try."

"PLEASE? FOR YOUR ONLY BROTHER?"

Papyrus really knew how to get him. "Okay, fine. I forgive myself."

"I'M NOT CONVICED."

"I can't really do much better than that."

"BUT IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE YOURSELF, THEN YOU AND FRISK WILL NEVER END UP TOGTHER, AND I JUST WANT YOU TWO TO BE HAPPY."

"Come on bro, just give it a rest."

"YOU COULDN'T HURT HER FOR A REASON, YOU KNOW."

He had a point. His magic came from his soul, and his soul, well.. "Paps.." He hadn't really thought about it. He knew what it meant, of course, but he knew he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve her.

"SHE DID SAY SHE LIKES YOU TOO. I DON'T SEE WHY YOU CAN'T MAKE IT WORK."

Sans hadn't even thought about the conversation prior to this mess. He wasn't even allowing himself the luxury of believing that Frisk was ever going to talk to him again, after all. "I don't know if she's going to forgive me that easily."

It was almost impossible to believe that he had woken up with Frisk in his arms. He should have held her tight and never let go. He should have done a lot of things, really.

Because the universe refused to let him be right about anything ever, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. And he so wanted to answer it. But Papyrus had priority right now, and that was final.

"BUT YOU DO LIKE HER, RIGHT?" Papyrus really didn't have an off switch when it came to making sure the people he cared about were happy. He thought that Sans and Frisk needed to be together, and that was that.

"Yeah. I mean, how can I not? But she's got a lot going on in her life right now. She's having a kid, Papyrus." Explaining that to him earlier had been fun.

"WHY CAN'T YOU HELP WITH THAT?"

Other than the fact that he was grossly irresponsible, and that he had almost murdered her less than twelve hours ago, and that he was a careless, lazy, mostly useless skeleton? "Well, Pap, I don't think she wants me to."

"IF SHE WANTED YOU TO, WOULD YOU?" He really didn't see that happening. He wasn't exactly the greatest with kids, after all.

"Why don't we just read the story, bro?"

"YOU'RE PRETTY GOOD AT READING STORIES. YOU COULD TOTALLY HELP HER WITH THE BABY."

"I could, but that would require getting up in the middle of the night, and we both know I'm too lazy to do that."

"SANS."

"Yeah?"

"WE BOTH KNOW YOU'D DO ANYTHING FOR FRISK."

He was really sunk. Not even lying about his laziness was getting him out of this one.

His phone buzzed again.

"YOU SHOULD PROBABLY CHECK THAT."

He sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket. _Frisk._ Of course.

 **Princess Frisk** : So I'm really craving a chocolate milkshake.

 **Princess Frisk** : And I'm not exactly grounded, but I'm totally grounded.

She really was something else. "She's grounded, to say the least." He said to Papyrus.

"SEE, SHE'S STILL TALKING TO YOU."

He felt his phone buzz again, and looked down.

 **Princess Frisk** : Also, that was a bad way to say hello after what happened today. So hey.

She had less tact than Papyrus sometimes, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He also really wasn't sure how to respond to her. He was almost afraid to.

"Pap, I really don't think Frisk and me are going to happen."

"I HAD WORRIED AS MUCH. BUT IF TELEVISION HAS TAUGHT ME ANYTHING, IT'S THAT TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL." Well, that many movies couldn't be wrong, now could they?

 **Princess Frisk** : And if you think you're going to pull some staying away from me for my own good BS, you've got another thing coming.

She knew him too well. Of course, he had proven himself incapable of hurting her, so unless he messed up in a non-magical way, she'd be fine. But he was still scared. She was so fragile, after all. And I he had hurt her..

But she seemed to have forgiven him. And he needed her in his life. Even if he didn't want to admit it.

 **Me** : i at least owe you a milkshake. grillbz tomorrow?

"Can we call it a night, Pap?" He asked. "It's been a ridiculously long day."

"HAVE YOU EFFECTIVELY FORGIVEN YOURSELF YET?"

 **Princess Frisk** : It'll probably have to be after I go to dinner with the parents.

 **Princess Frisk** : And probably beg for mercy.

He had certainly been there.

 **Me** : save room for dessert then

"I'm working on it."

"HMM. ALRIGHT, BUT IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE YOURSELF SOON, I WILL HAVE TO TRAIN YOU LIKE I DID ALPHYS."

Running one hundred laps while yelling about how awesome he was wasn't happening. Running even one lap while contemplating that he wasn't the absolute worst wasn't happening. "It's a process, okay bro? But uh, thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you." He decided to stop before he started getting emotional again. "Anyway, what are we reading tonight?"

Papyrus handed him his battered copy of the dating handbook. "No way, Pap. This is _not_ a bedtime story." He caught a glimpse of his phone screen as he got up to put the book back on the shelf.

 **Princess Frisk** : It's a date.

Who did this girl think she was, anyway?

He grabbed _Peek a Boo with Fluffy Bunny_ before snuggling back up with his brother. Within moments, the stress of the day had worn down on both of them, and Sans felt his head droop onto Pap's shoulder. One more page, he told himself, before he promptly fell asleep.

* * *

 **AN: I never really explained why Frisk isn't dead, did I? There is a reason, and it looks like you'll be finding out with Frisk in the next chapter.**

 **And yes, Frisk's name in Sans' phone is Princess Frisk. I refuse to believe that it would be anything else.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	7. Scientists are Good for Something

**AN: Again, thank you all so much for all the reviews, it really means a lot to me to see what you all think about this story.**

 **Also, #PrincessFrisk is now a thing, and no one can take it away from us. So there's that.**

* * *

Chapter Seven – Scientists are Good for Something

Frisk woke up to extremely bright sunlight streaming in through her windows, and her phone screeching the theme to Mew Mew Kissy Cutie in her ear.

"Alphys, it is too early." She grumbled into the receiver.

"You're worse than Sans, it's one in the afternoon."

That explained the bright sunlight. "Mm tired."

"Frisk, come on."

"Aren't I still mad at you?" It wasn't all Sans' fault she had ended up in the ER yesterday, after all, not to mention the embarrassing mess of an 'intervention' that she just knew was the geeky scientist's idea.

"I'm making cinnamon bunnies, with extra frosting." More like apology bunnies, Alphys only made them when she had upset someone.

"I'm pretty sure I'm grounded, so you'll have to deliver them. If my mom doesn't murder you before you can get through the front door." Her mother had been livid at all of them yesterday, but since Frisk had been delirious, she hadn't gotten all of hers yet. Dinner with them tonight was going to be _great_.

"I need you to come over here because all my lab equipment is here."

"I'm not in the mood to test my determination levels. I honestly don't care why I didn't die yesterday." Having a scientist for a best friend was the worst sometimes.

"I already know why you survived, that's not it. This is more about the baby."

"I'm listening." She was really not liking the idea of everyone just knowing suddenly, but it was easier than trying to find the courage to tell them. And to be honest, she was a _little_ curious as to why she wasn't dead, since everyone seemed to know but her.

"I'll explain when you get here."

Dammit, Alphys. "Fine. There better be chocolate milk to go with those bunnies."

"You've got it." Click.

Frisk got dressed and creeped into the kitchen, where her mother was drinking tea. "Good morning." She said sheepishly.

"Good morning dear, how are you feeling? Would you like something to eat?" Her mother asked. Frisk hoped that her sweetness meant that she was mostly over her anger from yesterday.

"Actually, um, well, Alphys was making cinnamon bunnies and.."

She really hated that look. "Who else is going to be there?" For someone who had been so adamant about Frisk learning to be an independent adult, her mother sure changed her mind really fast.

"Just Alphys and Undyne." She said, her confidence wavering. "Sans works on Thursdays at the grocery store and I think that's when Pap films videos for his channel." Or was Thursdays when he worked at the coffee shop? Either way, he worked on Thursdays.

"Alright, but we're leaving for dinner at five thirty."

"I'll be home by four." She grabbed her coat and keys and kissed her mother on the cheek. She meant well, after all. "I love you."

"I love you too. Drive safe."

* * *

Alphys and Undyne's house smelled like warm cinnamon even from the outside, and Frisk knocked once before letting herself in. Scooping up their cat, Kyube, she found Undyne and Alphys in the kitchen, and grabbed herself a still warm cinnamon bunny before plopping onto one of the stools next to the counter. The massive grey and white beast purred as she scratched behind its ears.

"I believe I was promised chocolate milk."

"You sure know how to greet your friends." Alphys teased.

"After the stunt you all pulled yesterday, you're lucky I'm speaking to you."

Undyne thunked an entire gallon of chocolate milk down next to her. "All yours, dweeb. Now spill about this kid."

Frisk grabbed a glass from the cabinet above her and poured herself some milk. "This better not be why I'm here."

"It's not. But we're your friends, so we're curious." Alphys assured her, looking up from adding more cinnamon to her second batch of dough.

Frisk knew that Undyne and Alphys understood human reproduction. They watched plenty of anime, after all, and Alphys _was_ a scientist. "It.. it was a one night stand." The less she had to explain, the better.

Undyne choked on her bite of bunny. "You're kidding me. You?"

She gave her friend a look.

"Come on Frisk, you cover your eyes at kissing scenes. There's no way-"

"Undyne." Alphys hissed. She was like the conscience of her friends. The hentai watching type of conscience. Her friends were weird.

"Anyway, the dad isn't important." Frisk said adamantly. "Hey, you still need to explain to me why I'm not dead."

She heard Undyne snort behind her, and Alphys' grin was concerning.

"We were going to let Sans explain that one."

"Nope, you two are telling me. _Right now_." She turned around to look at Undyne. "You still owe me a confession, and it's either this or something really bad." Revenge was a dish best served with a side of cinnamon bunnies.

"Fine." She grumbled. "It'll be better if I show you." She summoned three spears and Frisk did not like where this was going. "Alphys, hold still." Kyube leapt from her lap and scampered from the room. Smart cat.

"U-Undyne, you could just-" She didn't even flinch as they passed through her, and Frisk knew those things hurt. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"I think I'm missing the point." She took a sip of milk. All she had been craving lately was dairy. "Did you just make a pun?" Undyne gave her a look.

She had been spending _way_ too much time with Sans. "Did you just turn Alphys into a shish kabob?"

"She didn't. She didn't even hurt me." Alphys replied. "Basically, um, when you find your soulmate, your magic loses the ability to hurt them. Magic comes from the soul, after all. I can explain more but-"

"I think I get it.." She replied, her face a blazing beacon and her heart thudding in her chest. She knew that monsters believed in soulmates, but that they actually existed and that she was -

She suddenly realized that her parents knew about the soulmate thing, too. Was that why her mother had been so mad? Other than the fact that he had put her in the hospital, of course, but-

"That means we were right about you two. I think you owe us an apology." Undyne cackled.

"You'll have to force it from my cold, dead lips. You were both awful yesterday."

"We are sorry. But, I think if this hypothesis I have is correct, you'll be thanking us soon enough."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

* * *

"So what do you know about the formation of souls?" Alphys asked as Frisk followed her downstairs to the lab.

"Monsters have magic and humans have determination."

"Sort-of. We all have both, technically. Humans have far more determination, and monsters are practically all magic."

"Right. And neither can really handle large amounts of the other."

"Not exactly. Monsters can't-" She paused. "Humans _can_ handle large amounts of magic, because determination is a stronger force." She flipped on the light switch. "Magic can erode away at determination with enough exposure, but that's not really the point."

Frisk sat at Alphys work bench. There was a set of blueprints covered in strange symbols, and a sketch of something that reminded her an awful lot of Sans' blasters – she was rather acquainted with them, after all. "What's this?"

"Something I dug up from the previous scientist's files. I can't read a word of it, of course, but I found it while I was looking for a study on unborn souls."

"Who was the previous royal scientist?" It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know.

"No idea. Most of my information on him is redacted or in code-" She paused, pressing her hand to her head, like she was in pain. "Anyway." She rolled up the blueprint and stuffed it in one of the boxes beside her worktable. "It's not really important."

"You okay, Alphys?"

"I'm alright." She grabbed a bottle of water from her mini-fridge and downed half of it with a couple of painkillers from the bottle on her table. "Occupational hazard, most royal scientists end messily. Whatever happened to that one was a doozy."

"Just be careful, all right?"

"I always am. I don't get a lot of dangerous projects now that we're topside, after all."

She had a point. "Anyway, newborn souls?"

"Right. Your doctor said that both you and the baby's soul were fine, right?"

"Yeah?"

"How far along are you?"

"About seven weeks." She had gained a solid ten pounds to go with it.

"That's about what I figured. It shouldn't have a complete soul yet."

She gave her friend a confused look.

"Let me explain. Magic is what causes souls to form. So monster babies form souls upon conception, where humans ones form a little slower, while they're still in the womb."

"So absorbing that much magic made my kid's soul form instantly?" That did not sound like a good thing. That _really_ did not sound like a good thing.

"Exactly. Only, I don't think it's still human."

"W-what makes you think that?" Frisk would be lying is she said she wasn't concerned.

"Well, for one, the fact that they couldn't get an ultrasound yesterday. You shouldn't have had that much magical residue in your system, unless it was sticking around for a reason." Human machinery really wasn't equipped to handle magic anyway, which was annoying for someone who spent a lot of time with monsters. Even eating magical food before going in for a blood test could mess it up.

"So how do we figure out if it's human or not?" If it was a monster, wouldn't that make it-

"Well, I think I have a better ultrasound machine. One that can look right at unborn souls, rather than just detect the reverberations of them."

"Why don't they use ones like yours at the hospital?"

She shrugged. "Humans like to think that they do things better than monsters do. Besides, I just found the blueprints to put it together last night. The royal scientist before last did a lot of research with unborn monsters."

Frisk began to wonder what other great feats of magic and science was lost in Alphys' cluttered lab, but she didn't feel like asking. There were probably a few things the world didn't need to see, after all.

A few minutes later, Frisk found herself on an operating table with her stomach covered in glowing green ultrasound goo. "This feels really weird." It was grossly warm and tingled on her skin.

Alphys looked down at her, probe in one claw. She had gotten into a lot of awkward situations because of her over the years, but this one probably took the cake. "It isn't hurting you, is it?"

Alphys was _so_ lucky that she trusted her. "Is it supposed to?"

"No.. B-but it is made for monsters, so I was concerned.."

Frisk was glad her concerns came up _after_ the goo was on her skin. "It's just really warm."

"Sorry.." She pressed the probe to Frisk's stomach. A rhythmic sound filled the room.

"Is that my heartbeat, or theirs?" She wondered if the ultrasound could pick up the butterflies in her stomach.

"The baby's." Alphys replied, watching the screen as she moved the probe. "I think that's it."

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking at, but it was blue. "It looks like a ball of magic to me." It was better than her ultrasound yesterday, which had been a lot of blue and gray static, but it looked like this was a failure as well.

"Well, that's what a monster ultrasound would look like at this stage. Let me try-" She pressed a couple buttons, and something gray and heart shaped appeared on the screen, swimming in a blue sea.

"That's a monster soul, isn't it?" Things just got a lot more interesting.

"Tell Sans I said congratulations."

Frisk nearly fell off the table trying to take a swing at her.

* * *

Frisk flopped onto her bed after getting back from dinner, still a little unsure of what she wanted to do. Her parents had been, well, concerned at the idea of her having a monster child (not that they were entirely thrilled about the idea of a human one), but they were supportive, and that meant a lot. It was very unexpected, but it was their grandchild, and they wanted to help.

She had also gotten the lecture about not roughhousing, again, which wasn't entirely fair because she hadn't even been involved in the fight, but she figured it was her mother's way of expressing concern over her and her unborn child.

Now, there was just Sans to talk to. Last night she had made a 'date' with him (her sleepy self had so much more confidence), but she was almost afraid to see him, because if she did she'd have to tell him. The kid wasn't entirely his - he hadn't been there for the conception, after all - but knowing what she did of how monsters conceived children - love and magic was a tricky thing, after all- she couldn't exactly say it wasn't either. It wasn't his DNA, but it was his magic, and for monsters that was basically the same thing.

But she was scared, hopelessly in love, and really craving a milkshake, so it looked like she was going to have to do this. Besides, she would have been dead if he wasn't in love with her (and that was a mixture of wonderful and strange to think about), so maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. Maybe.

Dredging up the remains of her courage, she threw on a pair of jeans over her leggings – the dress could stay, and buttoning up her coat as she walked through the house, prepared to leave.

"Frisk, where are you going?" Her mother called from the kitchen as she was grabbing her car keys.

"Um, emergency run to Grillby's. I need a milkshake, pronto."

"Meeting with Sans?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. ".. _Yeah_. I know I'm still probably grounded but.." She peeked into the kitchen, where her mother was grabbing a slice of pie.

"You're not grounded." She sighed. "You're an adult, and I'm sorry that I haven't been treating you like one." The fridge closed with a soft click. "Even tonight at dinner I – I just want what's best for you."

"I know Momma, and.. trust me. I didn't intend for this to happen."

She walked over and gave her mom a hug, burying her face in her warm fur. "I am sorry that I pushed you so hard to go to college, my child."

"I'm sorry that I got pregnant and almost failed history."

Her mother gave her a soft squeeze. "Wait, weren't you majoring in history?"

"This had been nice, Mom, but Sans is waiting for me and-" The thought occurred to her that she hadn't even texted him to meet her yet. She should do that.

Her mother chuckled. "Do let him know that I am done being angry at him."

"He'll be happy to hear that." She smiled. "I do have to ask though, um, were you mad because he put me in the hospital, or because, uh-"

"Because he fell in love with you?" Her mom always knew.

"Heh. Yeah." She couldn't believe she was having this conversation. Magic made everything so weird sometimes.

"I was unhappy about it, at first, but only because I was scared for your well-being. Another human would be a well, a safer match, after all. But I can't say I didn't expect it."

"You can't say I didn't _try_ the human route."

"Don't push your luck, little one."

* * *

 **Dear readers, if you're not too busy screaming in the reviews about the terrible (or wonderful) thing I have done in this chapter, what is your least favorite font? Mine is Times New Roman (I never got in on the dislike of Comic Sans. It's neither the best nor the worst).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!  
-TigerLily**


	8. From One Soul to Another

****AN: A couple things - that's a lie. So many things. Bear with me, cause this author's note is going to be a novel.****

 ** **First of all. Reviews. Oh sweet baby Asriel (I stole that from one of you) those reviews. There's 33 for the last chapter, I think? Just, thank you. Even if you didn't review it, if you're reading this, thank you. You're all the best and deserve all your hopes and dreams (the good dreams, not the naked in school ones) to come true. Just. Wow. You guys rock. I wanted to respond to all of them but I held myself back, so just know that I've read every word a dozen times and then some.****

 ** **That being said. This chapter. It was really hard to write (because neither Sans nor Frisk would behave for me - jerks). Even though all your support filled me with determination (doing it again? - yep), I couldn't get this chapter to meet my standards. And I have pretty high standards, especially since you have all been so awesome about this little story of mine. However, I think what I have here is good. And if it isn't, I'll make it up in the next chapter, okay?****

 ** **Okay, life things. I got a job? That happened. Wow. So I'll be working full time. I promise**** ** _ _ **promise promise**__** ** **that I'll keep working on this fic. A chapter a week, of not more. It's happening. I promised myself a "Stay Determined!" tattoo (my first!) when this fic is done, so I'll keep writing if you keep reading, okay? Okay.****

 ** **Also. Shout out to my writing buddy, ethanr66. You've been listening to me complain about how bad this chapter is for like a solid week now, as well as writing a better Tori than me in our role-play, so thanks a skele-ton of skele-tons. This one's for you as well. Even if it isn't perfect. I hope you understand.****

 ** **Last thing before I leave you alone with your OTP. Tumblr. I made one of those and it's an Undertale ask blog. So if you want to hit up Sans and Frisk as a married couple (or Papyrus and Mettaton, or Alphys and Undyne), come bother them at askdomesticundertale (an actual link is on my author page if you're lazy. I'll be answering as/for Sans and Frisk (and sometimes Papyrus and Mettaton), and the most fabulous writing buddy of mine will be answering for/as/(whatever you call it when you reply as a character) Alphys/Undyne (and Pap and Ton-ton as well), so come bother us there. If you catch us in a good mood we might even answer questions about this fic, or post updates and things. Yeah. This will be fun :)****

* * *

Chapter Eight – From One Soul to Another

Despite his shortcut, Frisk had already had beat him there, and was chatting with Grillby up at the counter when he arrived. She was still dressed up from dinner, it seemed, in a light blue dress that clung to her curves, and a matching ribbon in her braided hair.

He suddenly realized how much he had missed her, despite it only being a couple of days since he had seen her last. He still felt guilty for what had happened, but she forgave him, and that was probably what mattered.

The only thing left to do was move on from there.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" He asked, using her shoulder as an armrest as he looked up at Grillby. "I mean, the bartender is pretty hot, so I can't blame you."

Grillby gave him an unamused look. He did use that joke a lot, after all.

"Come on Grillbz, you know it's true."

Grillby asked if he'd like anything.

"I'll have what she's having." He said, taking a seat beside Frisk.

"Two chocolate milkshakes then, please." Frisk said, with an anxious smile. Apparently dinner with her parents had not gone well, but he could only expect as much.

"And some fries." He added.

"I'm sorry, but I can't be seen with someone that dips their fries in ice cream."

"I'm sorry, but who invited who here?" He replied, elbowing her.

"Well I hoped you'd seen the error of your ways by now."

"That's what you get for trying to mess with perfection."

Grillby shook his head at their antics, before walking away to attend to another customer.

"Do you want to grab a booth?" Her anxious look had returned.

He nodded, turning around to find a place to sit. There was an open spot in the back, and they both headed towards it.

"So how was dinner?" He asked as they sat down.

"They're not angry, they're disappointed." She replied. "But Mom said to tell you that she's done being mad at you."

"Are you sure she's not just lulling me into a false sense of security?"

"Nah. We had a heart to heart before I headed over here." That was mostly reassuring.

Grillby's daughter, a pretty little green flame, came over with their order. "Working on a school night?" He asked her.

"Out for winter break." She replied. "I'm just helping dad out until he finds a new waitress."

A commotion behind them drew her attention. The dogs were barking like mad over their poker game. "I had better take care of that." She sighed, dog treats tumbling out of her apron pocket as she rushed off.

Frisk took a French fry and dipped it in her milkshake. "Nope, still the worst way to eat fries. Not even pregnant me can stand this." She declared after taking a bite.

"Keep your bad opinions to yourself." He replied, dredging three fries through his own shake.

"I've seen you drink condiments, you're not allowed to make culinary decisions."

"You always have to bring that up every time we're in here."

"It was a traumatizing experience, okay?"

"If that's your opinion of traumatizing, I feel __really__ sorry for you."

She paused. "I missed you."

"It's been two days."

"It felt like a long time."

"Come on, you were unconscious for one of them." He paused. That was not the right thing to say at all. "And I'm sorry."

She took a short draw on her straw. "Eh, all my friends get one free pass on trying to murder me, and you used yours. No big deal."

He was glad she saw it that way.

She quickly changed the subject. "So. Confession, I totally played Ocarina of Time without you this afternoon."

How dare she? "But it wasn't your turn." They had been working on it for almost a year now, switching turns whenever one of them died and arguing over how best to solve the puzzles. Papyrus had even helped them a time or two.

"I needed something to do after getting back from Alphys'. I found one of the keys to the temple."

"Where was it?"

"Exactly where I said one should be last time we played."

"In that case, I guess I can forgive you." He smiled. "I've got a confession of my own."

"Papyrus beat you at Mortal Kombat, didn't he?"

"How did you know?"

"He texted me immediately after to brag." She replied, taking another drink of her shake.

"Alright, new confession. I let him win."

"I'm calling bullshit."

"No lie. You know how bad Pap is at video games."

"I think he got you, and you're just too proud to admit it."

"Okay. It was a lucky shot."

"Mhm." She lips curled into a smirk around her straw. He was sunk.

He decided to quit while he was ahead. "So what did you do with Alphys earlier?"

"She made me cinnamon bunnies."

At least Alphys felt remorse for her actions, the bunnies proved it. He looked up to see that Frisk seemed to be concerned about something. One hand rested on her stomach, like he noticed her doing a lot recently. "Tummy ache?"

"Something like that."

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

"Sans." She smiled a little. "I've got something to tell you, but I don't know how."

"Well, you just open your mouth and speak. It's really easy."

She rolled her eyes. That was always a good sign. "The hard part is deciding on the words."

He was suddenly rather worried, but he didn't want to let it show. "So confession, Papyrus tried to make me read the dating handbook when I told him I was meeting you here."

She turned a little pink. "Well, I did call it a date.."

"Is it about what you said the other day, before - well, is it about us?"

"No. Well." She bit her lip. "Alphys told me something interesting."

"The soulmate thing?" He had been hoping that she wouldn't find out. He didn't want her to feel pressured into anything, even if he desperately wanted to act upon it.

"Two things then." That was concerning. "But can we start there?"

He had to admit though, it was rather comforting to know that it was her. He never really had his doubts, except for in himself, but knowing that at least his soul knew that they were meant to be just felt right. Now if only the reality of the situation wasn't such a mess. "I know, it's hard to believe that a soul as amazing as mine wants to pair with yours."

"Sans.." She frowned. Maybe that wasn't the best way to go about things.

"I'm just messing with you. Um. You don't have to feel obligated or anything. To be with me, I mean. I know I'm not the greatest, but -"

"I think you're the greatest."

"Heh.."

"I mean it."

He decided to go for broke. He might not get another chance, after all. "Do you want to try? The dating thing, I mean?" Maybe he should have read the handbook..

"I do. I really do, but-"

The baby. He wasn't exactly parent material, after all. At least it wasn't actually his, the kid had a chance that way. "I know that I'm not the most responsible, but if you wanted to try to make things work I'm sure I could-"

She had lain her head on the table.

"I know."

"No - you don't understand." She murmured.

He got up and slid in beside her, putting an arm around her waist. "Knock, knock."

She sighed. "Who's there?"

"Feelings police. Open up."

"The last time that worked I was in junior high."

"And you still had that crush on M.K." That was also a couple years before he ever thought about her as anything more than a friend. When had it happened, anyway?

She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. "He was such a dweeb."

"Still is, too. Not that your current prospects are any better."

"You know I hate it when you do that."

"Make fun of MK?" The kid was older than Frisk and still hero worshipped Undyne. Of course, Papyrus did, too, but that was different story altogether.

"No. Make fun of yourself. You're a much better person than you give yourself credit for."

"Frisk.."

"I mean it." It wasn't the first time she had brought it up, but he had never wanted to believe her.

"Alright. I'll try."

"Promise?"

Their milkshakes were melting.

"So, this other thing. Are you going to tell me?"

She sighed. "I promised myself I would." She was pensive for a moment. "You might even like what I'm about to say. Maybe." She bit her lip again.

"Alright, Princess, spill it."

"So you told me once that each monsters magic feel different, right?"

He wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. "Right. It comes from our souls, so even if two people cast the same thing, it would be slightly different."

"And you can tell your own magic apart from someone else's?"

"Yeah?" If he were to come in contact with anything made of his own magic, his soul would know. Of course, nothing he made ever stuck around, it was always just blasters and bones, and those dissipated.

"Okay. So I have an experiment.. I don't know if it will work."

"No. I know I can't, but I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't need you to cast anything. Just, give me your hand."

"Alright." He lay his hand in hers.

"Okay. Just, do whatever you do to feel magic?" She said, and pressed his hand to her stomach.

"I don't-" The fluttering within his soul silenced him. Something beneath the bones of his fingers, coiled within her, pulsed with a magic that was certainly his. And he had about one guess as to what it was.

* * *

"SANS! HOW DID YOUR - SANS? YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU FEEL VERY WELL."

"I'm fine, bro. I just need to go lie down."

Coming home immediately after saying goodnight to Frisk may have been a bad idea, but his room was the best place to freak out.

"THE GREASE IS FINALLY GETTING TO YOU." He should have known that Pap would be waiting up for him, but he wasn't exactly thinking clearly.

"Sure, bro, I just-" He really could not handle this right now. He had stayed as calm as he could for Frisk, but he knew he had really messed up. She did not need a monster kid in her life, especially not one that had a chance of being anything like him. He knew she had acted happy about it to make him feel better, but soulmate or not, this was -

"I, YOUR FANTASTIC BROTHER, WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU."

"I'm fine, bro.. I promise. I'm just tired. Long day at work.."

Papyrus scooped him up. "COME ALONG SANS, I WILL TUCK YOU INTO BED."

"Isn't that my job?" How was he even going to explain this one to Papyrus? Trying to find a way to explain how she got pregnant in the first place had been near impossible, but he was going to freak out about his new niece or nephew and -

"NOT TONIGHT, AS YOU ARE WORRYINGLY SICK."

"I'm not sick, Paps." Did he really look that bad? "I'm just-"

Fine. He'd let Papyrus take care of him. He wasn't about to explain what was really wrong.

He took his 'weenie tablets' like a champ, and even let Papyrus take his temperature (not that he really had one, being made of bones and magic, but Pap did things by the book). However, he was eternally grateful when Papyrus fell asleep beside him, Sans having taken the book away when his overzealous brother got the idea to act out the story. Though, to be honest, Papyrus had helped calm him a little. His brother was good at that.

But this, well.. There wasn't much Pap could do fix this. He just needed time to think, and from how awake he felt, he had plenty.

His kid. He lie awake in the darkness thinking about it. Frisk had explained how it had happened, and how she wasn't exactly sure if it was his or the other boy's or even really hers anymore, but the feeling in his soul let him know that he couldn't say it wasn't, at least in part, very much his.

He was scared, to say the least. Frisk having a human kid, he could handle. He had been a little jealous of the idea of her being with anyone else in order to make it, but a human baby, one that was hers and not his - at least biologically, he had almost, almost been ready to for it. He could do it for her - at least at first. But the idea of a kid of his own was terrifying.

He knew he couldn't let her do it alone. She had made him promise to think about things, and not to decide anything just because he felt responsible for what happened, but how couldn't he? She hadn't asked for this to happen - and while he really hadn't either, reality didn't really care.

Papyrus snored and rolled over. He couldn't even remember if he had ever been a child or not. Sans had practically raised him, if it could be called that, but caring for another adult - or whatever Papyrus was - was a lot different than an infant. And he had been terribly irresponsible at times.

There was also, of course, another part of him that loved the idea that Frisk was having his kid. The part of him that couldn't imagine her with anyone else - __his__ Frisk, and __their__ child. Accidental and wrought with magic that certainly wasn't meant for that purpose - unless his soul had other plans - it was definitely his own. It was way too sudden, but he couldn't say unwanted. Despite himself, he couldn't say he hadn't imagined having kids with her - if it was even possible to do so by any other way than by freak accident. And she seemed to be happy with the idea. Or at least, not as unhappy as she had been about the previous situation. Their kid. Geez. He couldn't help but smile at the idea. Crazy as it was.

Her smile. _Fuck_. The way she had smiled when he had realized what she was trying to tell him. Sweet, and genuine, and … of course he had messed it up with his own panic.

But maybe, they could make things work. She said she wanted to try, hadn't she? And it wasn't like they had anything to lose.

* * *

 ** **AN: Question for you all, because I know at least one of you spends more time watching Undertale stuff on youtube than me - has anyone stumbled across an AMV or anything set to the song "Beautiful Times" by Owl City? Because I need it in my life and I haven't found one.****

 ** **Also, this document obtained some underlining that didn't belong somehow? I think I fixed it all but if you catch anything major let me know.****

 ** **Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!****

 ** **Purrs,****

 ** **TigerLily****


	9. What Could be Lost

**AN: Its been too long since I posted, but working full time is way harder than expected. I'm learning how to do all the adult things though, and that's great. This chapter was difficult after not writing for a few, but I'm still pretty happy with this :)**

 **On a writing related note, I wrote a SansxReader one shot, some of you have already found it but here's a shameless plug to go read that as well.**

* * *

Chapter Nine - What Could Be Lost

Frisk was awoken by a knock on her door. "You have a visitor, dear." Her father's voice called.

She groaned. Her friends really did not understand the meaning of beauty sleep, and after last night, she was in desperate need of more. "Tell them to come back with coffee."

"You don't even drink coffee." Was that Sans' voice? It was way too early for him to be awake.

" _ _Fine__. Come in."

"Good morning, Princess." Sans said, walking in and sitting on the edge of her bed.

God, she hoped he hadn't woken her up just to break her heart. Because if he thought he was going to get away with that, he had another thing coming.

"Morning." She murmured, too comfortable to remove herself from her blanket cocoon.

"Is that any way to greet a friend?"

"Why are you here so early?"

"I couldn't sleep." That was a first.

"You and me both." While she knew she had no real right to be upset, his reaction last night had really bothered her.

He leaned back on his hands. "Hey, I'm sorry if anything I said last night upset you."

"'s alright. I was just as shocked as you are." She yawned.

"Yeah. It's a bit of a big deal."

"You're telling me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She sat up. Getting grumpy with him was getting her nowhere. "I'd rather this kid be yours, anyway." While she was still terrified at the idea of trying to raise a monster kid, she couldn't say that she entirely minded it being his.

"Do you really mean that?"

She lay her head on his shoulder. "Yes. And I don't think you've had enough sleep for this conversation." She really hadn't either. Life choices were not to be made while sleepy.

"I know. But I just couldn't leave things the way they were last night."

"I'm glad." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled her down with her. "But we'll talk later, okay? Just take a little nap with me."

He acted like he was going to protest, but she knew him too well. "If you insist." He wrapped one arm around her as she lay her head on his chest. "Are you sure you don't want a pillow or something? I don't know how comfortable my ribcage is."

It was true that he wasn't very squishy, but she wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, she definitely preferred him to any pillow. "You're perfect, Sans."

"I wouldn't go that far." He replied, nuzzling the top of her head.

If she said she didn't want to kiss him right now, she'd be lying. But now was not the time. "Are you comfy?"

"Mhm." He replied sleepily. It seemed her plan had worked.

She allowed herself to close her eyes, comfortable in his embrace. There were a few things that needed sorted out, but they had plenty of time. For now, she just wanted to curl up and sleep, and cuddles were an added bonus.

* * *

"Frisk, you need to wake up, your appointment is in an hour." Her mother's voice awoke her.

Frisk groaned and buried her face into her pillow - or rather, Sans's chest. She could really get used to waking up next to him.

Wait, her appointment was at three. Had they been sleeping all day?

She raised her head to call back to her mother. "I'm getting up."

"Will Sans be joining us?"

The thought suddenly occurred to her that her mother knew that they had been sleeping together all day. She really didn't want to have to explain that later.

"I'll ask him." She poked her snoring cuddle-buddy. "Hey Sans."

"Mmm?"

"Wake up." She nudged his head with hers.

"Why?"

"Because we've been asleep all morning."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back down to him. "I don't mind."

She hid her face in his neck to hide her blush. "Come on Sans, I have a doctor's appointment."

He let go of her to yawn and stretch. "I guess I'll get up then."

"Um, do you want to go with? The appointment is more for the baby than for me.."

She wasn't quite sure if he'd want to go or not, but it didn't seem like a bad idea.

"Do you want me to go?"

Maybe they should have talked about things earlier. "I, I wouldn't mind. I mean. Will you go to the appointment with me? I'd feel better if you were there."

Sans smiled a lot, but when he really, genuinely smiled, it made her melt inside.

* * *

Frisk really hated waiting rooms. She had never been the most patient person, and rooms dedicated purely to waiting on something just seemed unnatural.

Sans, of course, seemed to be born to wait, and was snoozing with his head on her shoulder while her mother chattered on about how amazing Dr. Otter had been when she was pregnant. For a brief moment, Frisk almost forgot that her mother had not actually birthed her, but the moment faded as Frisk remembered her lost older sibling.

She suddenly realized that her mother had stopped talking. She looked up to see tears were forming in the corner of her eyes.

She grabbed her mother's hand. "It's okay, Momma."

"You really would have liked your brother." She sniffled.

"I know. But you still have me. You always have me." Her first and only memory of her brother - or at least, her only memory of him not being a genocidal flower - involved him trying to end the entire world, but she tried not to think about that.

"Thank you, my child." Her mother rested her head on top of Frisk's, making her feel loved in the way that only a mother could.

For the first few years after the barrier fell, Frisk had been determined to return Asriel to their mother, and she and Alphys would go down at least once a month to try to convince the flower to join them on the surface, but to no avail. He just wouldn't leave the underground. She wasn't sure why.

"Frisk?" A nurse called, and the three of them got up to follow her.

Frisk also couldn't help but remember when he went missing. He was usually very easy to find, preferring their mother's house in the ruins to anywhere else. Only he was nowhere in the entire underground. They never found him again, after that.

"Frisk, are you alright?" Sans asked, surprising her by taking her hand.

"I'm okay. Just a lot on my mind."

Her mother placed a hand on her back. "I did not upset you, my child, did I?"

"No, not at all." She lied.

"This room right here." The nurse said, ushering them into a small room. "If you'll just hop up on the examining table dear, I'll need to check your magic levels and soul reverberations before the doctor can see you."

"You'll probably want her blood pressure instead, dear. My daughter is human."

"Oh? Oh. Your majesty, I almost didn't recognize you, I'm sorry." The nurse's blue cheeks grew green with embarrassment.

"You're quite all right, I am dressed very plainly today." Her mother usually dressed more, well, regally in public. She was the queen, after all, but today she had opted for comfort, rather than style.

"You look lovely, as always." The nurse complimented.

It was her mother's turn to blush, turning red as though she had blood on her veins. "Well thank you."

"I do have to mention though, Dr. Otter usually only treats monster patients. Not to be discrimatory, of course, but monster pregnancies have very different needs than human ones.."

"I appreciate the concern, but the doctor is very aware of our situation."

Frisk stole a glance over at Sans, who was sitting guiltily in his chair. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he responded with his own and a smile. She was happy that he had come with.

After the nurse acquired the necessary vital signs from her, and the doctor had came in, made the proper introductions, and seemed to be finished catching up with her mother - while Frisk did always love how casual monsters were about professionalism, the examination table wasn't the most comfortable to sit on - the fuzzy monster turned his attentions to her.

"How are you feeling today, Frisk?"

She held back a yawn. "I'm good."

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"Practically all the time." Sans teased.

"Like you have any room to talk." Frisk replied, sticking her tongue back out at him.

The doctor chuckled. "Alright, so your mother didn't have a chance to explain the whole situation over the phone. Would you care to explain in detail?"

"Uh. Well.." Frisk stuttered, trying to find the right words for the situation. "It started out as human.."

"It was my fault, really." Sans said quietly. "My magic is really, really strong."

"Are you a boss monster?" The doctor asked curiously.

It suddenly struck Frisk that she didn't know whether he was or not. She knew Papyrus was, but did it run in the family? It might be nice to know.

"Uh, yeah." Sans admitted. That meant that all of her friends and family were boss monsters. How she had survived for so many years around them, she'd never know.

Frisk couldn't help but notice that Sans grew rather quiet and concerned as she explained to the doctor what had happened. While she expected him to help her explain, it was obvious that he had other things on his mind. She couldn't help but be worried.

"I've certainly never heard of anything like this happening before." The doctor said once she had finished explaining. "I do have to ask though, are you sure this is something that you want to go through with?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this is definitely a very dangerous pregnancy, and currently you're very close to the point at which it can be safely aborted."

"What do you mean by dangerous?" Sans asked, snapping out of his stupor.

"I can only begin to imagine the potential complications of this pregnancy, and I just want to make sure that she is prepared to deal with them. I can't say that I recommend aborting it, but given the circumstances, I do have to ask."

Frisk protectively wrapped her arms around her stomach. She knew that the doctor was just looking out for her well-being, and that her well-being was more important than the baby's in everyone else's eyes, but she had listened to the reverberations of it's tiny soul and she wasn't about to give up. "I can do this. I want to do this."

"Frisk.. hey, let's think about this for a moment." Sans said cautiously, and she shot him a glare. She had thought he was on her side. It was why he was here, wasn't it?

"You don't think having this child could hurt her, do you?" Her mother asked.

"It is very possible. The human body is not designed to handle a monster pregnancy."

"I'll do whatever it takes. I'm keeping my child." She could feel the determination in her veins.

"If you are certain then." The doctor said softly.

"I am. I've never been so sure of anything in my entire life." This is what she wanted. She had been so unsure and scared at first, but she couldn't give up just because it was scary. She needed it as much as it needed her.

Sans looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. If he was thinking of ways to talk her out of this…

"You will have to be very careful. Your determination and it's magic are not going to get along."

"Will it have enough magic to sustain itself? Or is there another way to-" She wasn't sure how to finish that sentence. She certainly didn't have any magic of her own to give to it.

"Well, it's very common for the other partner to share their own magic with their child, but in a situation like this, I'm not sure.." The doctor said delicately, unsure of how to address the situation. Sans seemed at loss for words, trying and failing to say something. She wasn't sure why, but suddenly he seemed like he wasn't very happy with the situation, and that hurt more than anything. "I'm sure there are other ways, especially in this sort of situation. I'll have to do some research and get back to you."

"Right." Frisk said softly. "Um, when am I due? I know that monster pregnancies tend to be a little shorter."

"They can be longer or shorter than human ones, depending on the type of monster. I'd expect anywhere from early April to this time next year, but we'll be able to estimate more surely once we've had some time to monitor their growth."

"So I could be pregnant for a whole year?" That sounded absolutely terrible. Waiting nine months was bad enough.

"I don't think it will take that long. Hopefully, in your case it will be a short one."

"I had better start thinking of names then."

"You've got a little time." The doctor smiled. "Would you like to see them today?"

For as much as Frisk hated ultrasound goo, she loved the idea of looking at her child. Even if they were only a mass of magic at this point. "Of course."

In no time at all, they were looking at the screen filled with blue. It seemed to be taking some sort of shape that she wanted to believe was vaguely humanoid. She heard her mother sniffle behind her.

"No crying yet, Mom, we don't even know if they'll have scales or fur."

"Hopefully they'll look like you, kid." Sans said, standing at her side. Despite being rather peeved at him, she reached over and took his hand in hers. He was just looking out for her, after all.

"Maybe they'll end up like you." What was it that Sans used to call Papyrus - baby bones? She couldn't help but smile.

"I don't know if the world can handle that." He laced the bones of his fingers in hers and it felt right. They could figure this out. Weren't they soulmates, after all? She didn't want to let that cloud her decisions, but it did hold a certain amount of comfort, especially now. Whatever it was that was currently causing him concern, they'd figure it out together. They had to.

"Look at this, my child, they are trying to share their magic with you." Her mother's voice grabbed her attention and she looked at the screen. "Can you feel it?"

She saw the small wave of blue and orange bounce from her child and out of the screen, but she did not know what she was supposed to be feeling. "I don't know what you mean." She admitted.

"If their soul is already trying to connect with yours, I don't think you're in for a very long pregnancy." The doctor said with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Right now, your child is capable of small emotions, and with their magic - an extension of their soul - is trying to let you know how they are feeling."

"Does this happen often? I haven't felt anything.." Had it been trying to communicate with her this whole time, and she had been unable to feel anything?

"A-Asriel and I would bounce emotions back and forth through my entire pregnancy. He was a very needy child, but it was comforting to know how he was doing." Her mother said softly.

Of course. Another magical thing she was missing out on. Her child had to be so lonely, trying to reach out to her and getting nothing back. She watched another pulse flit across the screen, but felt nothing. Her heart sank. "I can't feel them."

"Determination can make the soul a bit.. thick." The doctor said carefully, removing the probe from her stomach. "Perhaps it is an ability you can develop."

"Right." Frisk had a hard time believing that. Their tiny little soul must be so lonely.

"In the meantime, it is possible that others can share with them. It would be good for them to come into contact with the magic and emotions of others."

Catching sight of her mother's hopeful expression, she couldn't help but ask. "Do you want to try, Momma?"

"Would that be okay, my child? I do not wish to-"

"Please?" She asked, letting go of Sans' hand as she sat up and turned around to face her, a bright smile on her mother's soft face.

"I'm sure you remember, but soft, positive emotions, especially at first. Love, happiness, hope, gently push them from your soul to theirs." The doctor instructed as he helped Frisk clean the goo from her stomach with a warm washcloth.

"Of course." Her mother said, reaching out towards Frisk but pulling back away, with a small frown.

Frisk grabbed her mother's paw, and held it to her stomach. "It's okay Mom, I promise. I'm sure they want to tell their grandmother hello."

Her mother sniffled a little before she smiled, but that was to be expected. Frisk felt something warm pass through her skin, and a few moments later, felt a cool sensation on her skin beneath her mother's warm fur.

"What are they feeling?" Frisk asked, wanting nothing more than to be able to feel what her mother had just felt. She couldn't help but be jealous that she couldn't even connect with her child, but anyone else with magic could. It wasn't fair.

Her mother smiled weakly. "They are.. happy, my child."

She didn't exactly believe that. "Momma, please, I want to know."

"They are scared and lonely.. but they are so strong. I wish.." Her mother pulled away from her then, and Frisk did not know what to do. She did know, however, that things would be so much different, had she magic of her own. But souls like hers always had ways of getting things done, and she was determined to make things better, for both herself and her child.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	10. What Has Been Found

**AN: SURPRISE! Two chapters in one day because you all deserve it.**

* * *

Chapter Ten - What Has Been Found

The car ride back from the doctor's was quiet, to say the least, each of them dealing with their own demons. The queen drove, expression somber as she tried not to dwell on her lost children, while Frisk lay her head against the window in the passenger seat in front of Sans, one hand pressed to her stomach where her child - their child - lived and grew in silence.

Sans himself sat quietly in the backseat, trying to come to terms with his newfound sense of mortality. He was a boss monster, obvious from the strength of his magic and the larger sense of determination in his soul. But he always forgot the other parts of the equation, that if her were to have children, he would age as they did, giving his power up to them as the years went on, before eventually the last of his magic would give out - sure he had a long time before that happened, but to suddenly have an expiration date, if even an unsure one - he wasn't sure how to handle it.

He wasn't sure if Frisk was aware of this, but she had handled the own threat on her life that the child posed so admirably, even if he had not been able to stand the thought. She was very young, by both monster and human standards to be having a child, but was so willing to throw her life away for its. Humans could be so maddening sometimes, with the way they disregarded their worth of their own lives.

He couldn't stand the thought of losing her - he would one day, he knew, as damnably short-lived as humans were - but everything considered, he couldn't bring himself to convince her to give up the kid, either. And if she wasn't going to give up, he wouldn't either. And for as much as scared as he was to admit it, the baby needed him. He just hoped he could fulfil the responsibility.

"Hey Frisk?" He said softly, as they were turning onto her street.

"Yeah?"

"I've got a story for you."

"Okay?"

"So there once was this old man with a long red beard named Rudolph, and because of that, everyone called him Rudolph the Red."

She groaned. "Sans, I swear to god."

"Hear me out, okay? Anyway, one day, the old man says to his wife that it's going to rain, and she doesn't believe him, because it was a beautiful day outside, and she wanted to hang the laundry out on the line."

She sighed. "So did it rain?"

"Of course it did. The minute his wife had all the clothes out on the line, it just started coming down in buckets, and they both had to run outside to get everything." They pulled into the garage, but no one moved as they waited for the punchline. "And his wife turns to him, pretty upset that she was wrong, and asked him how he knew it was going to rain. And he turns to her and says" He paused for emphasis. "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear."

Frisk put her head on the dashboard and groaned, but he caught her smiling and laughing silently. The queen, however, roared with laughter, like it was the best thing she had heard in a while.

"Dammit, Sans." Frisk giggled. "Now you have to watch Christmas movies with me."

"Pap and I still have __Rudolph__ and __A Year Without Santa Claus__ , if you want to come over."

" _ _A Year Without Santa Claus__ is mine, you two borrowed it and never gave it back." Frisk accused, and he was relatively certain she had brought it over a couple years ago and they had never gotten around to watching it, but that was alright.

"Well, how about you come over tomorrow night and we can watch it."

"Can we make hot chocolate with the fun colored marshmallows?"

"It's not like I have three bags in my cupboard or anything." He had bought them last week in preparation for Frisk coming home, in addition to cinnamon sticks and the popcorn she liked.

"I'll leave you two to your planning." The queen said, opening her door. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Sans?"

"Thanks, Your Majesty, but I have to work in a couple hours, and Pap is making soup for me." His brother had texted him earlier to make sure that he would be home to try his new recipe.

"Sans." The queen said in a way that would cause him concern if she wasn't smiling.

"Yes?"

"Call me mom. Or Toriel, at least." She had been asking him to do so for years, but he could never quite get himself to do it.

"Can I call you Tori? Or Toreador?"

She chuckled. "Anything but 'your majesty' - you are dating my daughter, after all."

"Mom, we're not -" Frisk turned as red as he was blue and buried her face in her hands.

"Whatever you say." The queen teased, before getting out of the car and heading into the house.

"We might as well make it official, no one believes that we're not anyway." Frisk said, resting her head back against her seat.

"Well, since you're asking so nicely.." Sans replied, leaning forward to rest his head on the back of her seat and wrap his arms around her the best he could from his position.

She moved his arms to her shoulders, resting her head in the crook of his elbow. "We've got a lot we need to talk about." She murmured. "But I also just want to say screw it and kiss your dumb face. But I feel like that isn't the best way to start a relationship."

That morning, when they had been curled up in her bed, he had wanted nothing more than to kiss her and call her his, and the feeling had not faded in the least since then. "Well, kisses first, adult conversations later isn't the worst relationship dynamic."

"Saaans." She nipped at him and he pulled his arm away quickly, surprised by her sudden act of violence.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"I wanted to know what you taste like."

"So that's how it is now?"

"Yep. And you taste weird." She rubbed her jaw with one hand. "And you're really hard."

"Huh, it's almost like I'm made out of bone."

"What? I had no idea."

"You're so cute when you're being weird." He wrapped his arms back around her shoulders, pulling her into the seat.

"Thanks, nerd. I guess you're pretty cute, too." She pressed her lips against his ulna, and he expected another nip that never came.

"You guess?"

"Mhm. Also, I'm still pretty pissed at you for trying to suggest I give up on this kid."

Apparently they were talking about that now. "I'm just scared of losing you." He admitted, deflating a little.

She wrapped her hands around his wrists and held him tight. "You're not going to lose me. I'm a little more determined than that."

"I know you are. But I'm allowed to worry." He looked down at his legs, a stark white contrast to his black and blue basketball shorts.

"I know. I just-" She hummed into his bones and he didn't know what she wanted to say. He decided to give her some time to think, and she rewarded his patience a few moments later. "I just thought you would be on my side about all this. I know it's expecting a lot, but part of me keeps imagining us as some sort of .. some sort of family. I know it's too early for all that, but it's nice to think about, you know?"

He exhaled softly. A family - with him, no less. It was better than the alternatives, but he still found it hard to believe that she wanted him like that. He had came over that morning to tell her that he wanted to help in any way he could, that he wanted to be with her, if she wanted that as well, but to call them a family just felt right, in a strange sort of way. Even if it was an awful lot very fast. "I wouldn't go that far. But I do want to try to get there, someday."

"I think I can live with that." She pressed another kiss into his arm and he felt himself grow lighter. They sat there in silence for some time before she spoke again. "Can I ask you a question? I'll be careful with your spine."

It took him a moment to realize what she meant, until he remembered the open book joke he had made the other day. "Well, since you already know the rules, ask away."

"Why did you get so concerned when the doctor asked you if you were a boss monster? I don't know if it's a personal question or not, but I didn't think he'd ask if it was?"

The garage was probably not the best location for the conversation they were having, but they were never good at such things. "The question itself wasn't the issue. I just remembered something important, and it scared me." It still did, but he wasn't sure if she needed to know that.

"Can I ask what it was?" She asked, tracing her finger along the bones of his hand. Something about her touch was just so soothing. He wanted to tell her everything.

"You can, but I don't know how to explain it."

"Will you try, for me?"

He was surprised that she didn't already know. Or if she did, she just wasn't realizing it. "For lack of better phrasing, monsters like me only age if they have children. It's a way of passing on our power." The child she carried would one day be the reason he turned to dust, if he wanted to think about it that way. There were worse ways to go, he supposed. His only real concern was that there would be no one to care for Papyrus. He couldn't leave his brother alone in the world, and it wasn't like he was the type to have any kids of his own.

Of course, Sans had always thought that about himself, too.

"Oh. __Oh__." She leaned forward, clutching his arms to her. "Sans.. I'm sorry."

"Frisk, it's - Frisk, will you look at me? It's hard to talk to you like this."

She pulled out of his grasp and got out of the van, before opening his door. "Scoot over." She instructed, and he moved just enough to let her in. "Better?" She asked, looking at him with a soft smile.

He nodded, and took her hands in his. He wasn't sure when they started holding hands during difficult conversations, but it was so soothing. "I'm not upset about it, or anything, if that's what you're thinking."

"That's good.. I understand now why you might not want me to keep it." She said with a sad expression. "But I can't-"

"No, I want you to keep it. I want this kid. Maybe not as much as you do, but I'm warming up to the idea." Slowly. "And I can't imagine giving up on something that already has a soul."

"That means a lot." She smiled. Why did she have to be so beautiful?

"I'm sorry if I upset you earlier."

"I understand." She said. "I was being a bit selfish, before. Anyway.. since I can't, do you want to talk to it - or whatever you call the emotions thing?"

While he hadn't exactly been the most eager to try earlier, the idea didn't sound so bad now. "Sure." He also knew that not being able to do it herself was upsetting her, so passing on the chance seemed rather rude. He let go of her hand and put his fingers on her stomach, but drew back. "It should work a little better without your shirt in the way, um if you don't-" He felt his cheeks get a little warm.

"I asked you if you wanted to have a moment with your child, not if you wanted to cop a feel." She teased, but grabbed his hand and put it beneath her shirt anyway. She was always so warm and soft, and he wanted to wrap himself up in her. The feeling of warmth and security is the one that he pushed from his soul, and his fingers shook a little as he worried if the little one would send anything back.

He looked at Frisk, who was watching him with a gentle curiosity. When she was younger, she had always talked about how much she wanted to be a monster so she could do cool things with magic as well, and he wondered if she still felt the same way. Instead of asking, he pressed his closed mouth to her forehead, a weak approximation of a kiss that made blue sparks crackle down his spine. He almost missed his child's weak response, gratitude, maybe, but also bubbling happiness.

He felt himself inflate with a sort of paternal protectiveness that he hadn't expected from himself, allowing his magic to be drawn away, replacing what the child had lost in growing. She needed him so much, and he just wanted to make everything okay. He might fail, but the worst he could do was fail to try.

Frisk lay her head on his shoulder, groaning a little. "What are you doing?"

He probably should have warned her, but hadn't thought of doing so. "Sharing my magic. They needed it, and - I haven't hurt you, have I?" He knew he couldn't, but he was still concerned.

"It's just really warm and strange." She said sleepily.

"Tired already, love?" The pet name was out before he could think about it.

"It's been a long day. Being pregnant is exhausting." He could only imagine.

"Come on, let's get you inside. You need to eat first."

"You probably have a point." She moved her head from his shoulder, but didn't go much farther than that. Would it be too much to kiss her? He wasn't even sure how to kiss, really, but perhaps she'd forgive his inexperience.

"Can I-"

"Please."

He leaned his head towards hers, still trying to figure out how to do things. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was soft, and he decided to close his as well before leaning forward - his phone started ringing, loudly, startling the both of them. The back of her mother's van wasn't exactly the most stellar choice for a first kiss, but still.

"Papyrus?" She asked, recognizing the ringtone - it was a catchy little tune called __Bonetrousle__ that he had found in the default ringtones of his first phone, and he had used it for his brother ever since.

"Sorry.." He said, pulling his phone from his pocket and answering it, holding his phone a few inches from his skull.

"SANS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO BE HOME FOR DINNER!"

He looked at the time. Seven thirty. He was barely going to have time to eat before work at this rate. "Sorry bro, we just got back from Frisk's appointment. I'm on my way now."

"HOW IS THE LITTLEST HUMAN DOING?" That nickname probably wasn't going to stick as well as Pap thought it would.

"Doing great, bro. I uh, have some good news for you."

"ACTUAL GOOD NEWS, OR DID YOUR ORDER OF WHOOPIE CUSHIONS COME IN?"

Frisk giggled at that, shaking her head a little. "They had better not be for me."

"Of course not." He whispered, before replying to his brother. "Those won't ship till Thursday, they're backed up because of the holidays. I'll tell you when I get home, okay?"

"ALRIGHT. BUT HURRY UP, I WANT TO KNOW IF MY RECIPE IS AS GREAT AS I THINK IT IS."

"I'm sure it's great, bro."

"OF COURSE IT IS. BUT I WANT TO HEAR THAT AFTER YOU TRY IT."

"I'll be home in a few."

"NO TELEPORTING."

He was too tired from sharing magic to do that. "I don't want to leave my car at Frisk's. I'll see you when I get home." __Click__. His brother never had the patience to wrap up a conversation properly.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked Frisk, who was getting out of the van. He followed after her, closing the door after him.

"What time?"

"Later in the afternoon, I'll want to sleep after work. Six or seven, maybe?"

"Seven, I promised Mom that I'd make supper."

"It's a date then."

"Keep saying things like that and people will think we're together." She teased.

"Wouldn't that be a tragedy."

* * *

Sans had barely had the chance to change out of his work clothes and lie down in his bed when he heard Papyrus' alarm go off. As much as he hated the night shift, it gave him the excuse to sleep most of the day, and that meant that Papyrus would leave him be. He had overtaxed his magic stocking shelves after how much he had given away, and he just needed some sleep.

There was a loud knock on the door. "SANS!"

"Your scarf is in the kitchen, bro." He was always leaving it around.

"I KNOW. YOU PROMISED TO TELL ME THE GOOD NEWS WHEN YOU GOT OFF WORK."

Patience was not one of Pap's virtues. "Why don't you go get the Gyftmas decorations out of the garage, and we'll talk after that?" That should give him a solid hour or so of sleep.

"ARE WE GOING TO DECORATE BEFORE EVERYONE COMES OVER?"

"Since when is Frisk everyone?"

"WE CAN'T HAVE A MOVIE WATCHING PARTY WITHOUT UNDYNE AND ALPHYS, SO I TOOK THE LIBERTY OF INVITING THEM OVER AS WELL!"

Leave it to his brother to turn a quiet evening into a party. "Looks like you're going to have to run to the store for snacks as well."

"I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT! I SUPPOSE I HAD BETTER LET YOU REST AFTER WORK, BUT WHEN I GET BACK FROM THE STORE WE ARE DECORATING!"

"Sounds like a plan, bro. Take your time." He rolled over and covered his head with his pillow as he heard Pap bounce down the stairs.

He awoke again a few hours later to the sound of crashing from the kitchen, and despite his desire to fall back asleep, he decided to get up and check on his brother.

Sliding his feet into his pink slippers (Alphys swore she had ordered him blue ones, but he knew better), he padded down the stairs to find Papyrus lugging in a giant evergreen tree.

"I knew you were thinking of getting a houseplant, Pap, but this is a little ridiculous."

"ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE BAD JOKES OR HELP ME?"

"I don't know why I can't do both." He replied, making the stump blue - that used more energy than usual, but it had been a long night - and helped his brother set it up in the corner of the living room. It barely fit.

"SANTA IS GOING TO BE SO PROUD!"

"He sure is." One day, he'd tell Pap the truth about Santa. But today was not going to be that day. Tomorrow didn't look so good, either. Maybe in a few years, when it was time to tell his and Frisk's kid the truth.

Or they'd never tell either of them. That seemed like the best plan. It wasn't a hard charade to keep up, after all.

"NOW THAT YOU'RE AWAKE, I CAN SHOW YOU THE SUPER FESTIVE THING I FOUND AT THE STORE!"

He followed his brother into the kitchen, where he hadn't noticed the shopping bags and the fact that all four of their crock pots were plugged in. He pulled the lid off of one - cheese dip. His favorite. "Everything looks great, Pap."

Papyrus puffed up with pride. "I'M MAKING EVERYONE'S FAVORITE HOLIDAY FOOD! I EVEN BOUGHT FANCY HOT CHOCOLATE!" He pulled the container out of the shopping bag he was looking through and put it on the counter.

He didn't know what he'd do without Papyrus. Or for that matter, what Papyrus was going to do without him. Hopefully he had a century or two to figure that out, but it really didn't feel like that long.

"Is that what you wanted to show me?"

"NO. I'M HAVING TROUBLE FINDING IT - WAIT. HERE IT IS!" His brother triumphantly pulled what looked to be - no it definitely was mistletoe - out of one of the bags.

"Pap. No."

"IT'S TRADITION! NYEH-HEH-HEH!"

He groaned. "It's only tradition if you make it a tradition." Like how he and Frisk always spent the day after Valentine's Day stocking up on cheap heart shaped candy and watching horror movies. Mistletoe, however was a tradition he was happy to skip out on.

Pap, however, was not to be moved, and the offending plant was hung in the doorway to the kitchen.

"SO WHAT'S THE GOOD NEWS?" Papyrus finally remembered to ask as he was holding Sans up so he could put the star on top of the tree. "HAS THE QUEEN FINALLY DECIDED TO REINSTATE THE ROYAL GUARD?"

"Not exactly, bro." He replied, carefully affixing the bright orange star. He was slowly learning that real pine needles were sharp. "Put me down and we'll talk while we put on the ornaments."

Pap put him down carefully and Sans sat on the floor and handed his taller brother an ornament from the box. It was one of their bone shaped ones that was actually a Halloween decoration, not that he'd ever tell his brother. "It's about Frisk." He started, detangling two ornaments from each other and handing them to his bro.

"ARE YOU TWO FINALLY GOING TO GO ON A DATE?"

"Uh. Maybe. But that isn't it." The next one out of the box was one of the ones Frisk had given to Pap, a little bowl of spaghetti made out of clay.

"MAYBE? HOW CAN YOU MAYBE GO OUT?" Pap asked, carefully placing his favorite ornament.

"We're working it out." He handed Pap another bright silver bone.

"FINALLY!"

"Anyway, that's not the point, Pap." He didn't even know how to tell his brother. He was going to be so excited, and Sans wanted to tell him, but words were difficult, sometimes.

"GET TO THE POINT THEN, SANS. I HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL DAY."

A picture of the three of them, placed in the middle of a snow globe. It had been taken after Frisk's winter concert her eighth grade year. She was dressed like a reindeer, but had put her antlers on Pap. His sweater that year had been particularly ridiculous. "This one's fragile." He handed it carefully to Pap, who had held it while he waited for Sans to finally tell him. "You've been calling Frisk's baby the littlest human, right?"

"RIGHT. BECAUSE IT IS THE LITTLEST HUMAN I KNOW."

"Well, bro, it's not human anymore."

"IF YOU'RE MAKING SOME SORT OF JOKE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND." Papyrus gave him a look of disbelief.

"No jokes bro, honest. My magic it uh, changed it. The baby is a monster now." Poor wording, but it got the point across.

His favorite ornament shattered on the floor as Papyrus scooped him into a hug. "I'M GOING TO BE AN UNCLE! SANS! THIS IS THE BEST GIFT YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN ME! I'M GOING TO BE THE BEST UNCLE EVER!"

"I suppose I had better return what I got you then." He said. "Pap, you're crushing me."

Pap pretended he didn't hear and continued to hug him. "AND NOW THAT YOU AND FRISK ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS, YOU HAVE TO BE TOGETHER."

"We're working it out. Papyrus, seriously, __let me go__." But his over-exuberant brother refused.

"THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST GYFTMAS EVER!"

"Sure is, bro. It sure is."

* * *

 **So it's the first day of lent? If that's a thing you celebrate, let's me know what you're giving up, cause Im having trouble deciding personally.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	11. Some Poor Planning

**AN: Hey everyone, just one chapter today, but it's a long one so I hope you can forgive me :)**

 **Some housekeeping things: if you're still working on fan art for the cover, please let me know, because i cant remember who is and who isn't :) Also, if you're the guest reviewer that posted a link to your art in the comments, I couldn't make it work for the life of me, so either send me a PM, or hit me up at askdomesticundertale on tumblr. I really appreciate that you made it for me and I'd really love to see it :)**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it :)**

* * *

Chapter Eleven - Some Poor Planning

"So I thinking of wearing an ugly reindeer sweater to the Gyftmas Celebration this year." Frisk suggested to her parents as they ate supper together. Her parents put it on every year in the great banquet hall of the monster embassy (that most of the monster population referred to as the palace), and her friends always attended in the most ridiculous sweaters they could find.

"I thought we agreed upon a candy striped hoop skirt for you this year, my child." Her parents, of course, dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus for most of the event, and as their 'elf', they had dressed her in increasingly embarrassing outfits. Last year had been a red and green dress in the heaviest fabric she had ever seen, and it had been time to celebrate the spring equinox before Sans had let her live it down.

"I never agreed on that, Momma." She sliced the head off of a dinosaur shaped chicken nugget with her fork. She had burnt what she had tried to make for supper - the lasagna pan would never be the same again - so dino nuggets and tator tots shaped like smiling faces it was. As well as a salad, but that was her mother's contribution.

"You'll be so cute though, look at this." Her mother pulled up a photo on her phone and showed it to her. It was worse than she had imagined.

"I don't even think I can walk in skirts that big." She mushed a tot through ketchup so it looked like its eyes were bleeding.

"You are very coordinated, dear. Isn't she?" Her mother turned to her father for assistance.

"Well.." Her father said delicately, poking at a rogue crouton.

"Momma. I once sprained my arm trying to get out of bed. And I almost passed out in the outfit you picked out last year."

"That was more the fault of the corset than anything. This one has a much more forgiving bodice."

"That's good, because the way I've been gaining weight I probably can't wear one anymore." College food had not been forgiving, and being pregnant didn't help, not that she really was built for a corset before.

"Well dear, you don't exactly have the best eating habits. Why don't you have some of this salad, it's very good." Her mother offered the bowl to her.

She took some to appease her mother. "I'm pregnant. I'm going to gain weight."

"I know, dear, but that doesn't mean - how do you manage to take a scoop of salad with no spinach in it?"

"Well Mom, I'd tell you, but you'd keep trying to feed me spinach and we all know how that is going to work out." She grabbed the bottle of ranch and proceeded to drench the offending greenery in it. Not even the croutons were spared.

"Frisk."

"Mom."

Her mother sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me wear an ugly sweater with my friends?"

"It is a cute tradition that they have going on." Her father said delicately, but was silenced by her mother.

"I'll make you a deal, Mom. Let me wear a sweater and jeans this year, and next year you can dress me __and__ the baby in whatever ridiculous get-up that you want." Her kid was never going to forgive her, but it was for the greater good.

"And Sans?"

"When did he get dragged into this?"

"I assumed you two would be married by then."

"Mom!" Having a kid was one thing, but that was too far. "We haven't even been on a date yet."

"You are having a child together." Monsters were weird about marriage, in the fact that they only got married if they wanted to have children. There was probably some historical reason, but Frisk couldn't remember.

"This isn't the traditional monster pregnancy, you know." Frisk was still having trouble deciding if she could call it his or not.

"I know dear, but it is a bit easier to explain if you're getting married. Or at least announce an engagement. You can wait as long as you want to actually get married."

"Are you ashamed of me?"

"Of course not. But you do have to admit that it is hard to explain."

"It's hard to explain either way. Monsters and humans aren't exactly compatible, ya know? I got knocked up the old fashioned way and there isn't a kind of magic out there that can leave well enough alone."

" _ _Frisk__." Her mother said sternly, before shooting a glare to Frisk's father, who was chuckling. "What in the world could you be laughing at?"

Her father tried her best to compose himself before speaking, but there was still a grin on his face. "She has a point, you know."

Her mother heaved the most long-suffering of sighs. "You two are really impossible, you know that."

"You're the one trying to shotgun wed me to someone who isn't even the one who knocked me up."

"I thought college was supposed to improve your style of speaking, my child, not butcher it."

Where had she learned to speak like that? From her roommate's friends, probably. It still surprised her that she was the one that had gotten pregnant. "College was supposed to do a lot of things that it didn't."

"Obviously."

"Admit it, Mom. You are embarrassed of me."

"Not embarrassed, my child, but I did want things to go differently for you."

"Haven't we already had this conversation?"

"In part, yes. It's just hard for me, sometimes, to let you make your own mistakes."

Her father put a hand on her mother's arm. "Didn't you have plans at seven, dear? It's a quarter till."

Her dad was the best. "I do, actually. Um, can I be excused?"

Her mother looked like she was about to say something, but her father let her go with a wink. She all but jumped out of her chair, gave her father a quick hug and her mother a peck on the cheek, and was out the door with a "Love you!" before they could stop her.

* * *

It wasn't until Frisk was trekking down the street from her car to the gas station - she had guessed wrong that she could make it on an empty tank- that Frisk wished she had grabbed her coat. It was rather windy and the hoodie she had gotten for free at some spirit event was doing little to keep her any sort of warm or dry.

Her teeth chattered as she stomped the snow off her shoes upon entering the store. After filling a cup with cappuccino, she shuffled her way to the back of the store on her search for gas cans, as the one she usually kept in the trunk of her car for emergencies was missing. All she found was booze. Great.

Honestly, though it wasn't what she needed, she could really go for a drink. It was easy to forget that she was underage when no one in college cared. Though maybe she could get Sans or Alphys to -

Wait. She was pregnant. Drinking was off the agenda. As it should be anyway.

However, there was a small red gas can hanging out by the bottled water, so that was nice. She had grabbed it and was making her way up to the counter when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

She sniffled a little before answering it, glad that her teeth had stopped chattering. "Hey Paps, what do you need?"

"YOU ARE FIVE MINUTES LATE, AND I WAS CHECKING ON YOU."

"I'm okay, just at the gas station. I'll be there in fifteen." She tried to sniffle quietly, but her nose was running like a sieve.

"HAVE YOU FALLEN ILL?"

Dammit. "Just a little cold, my car ran out of gas down the street."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ONE OF US TO COME GET YOU?"

"It's maybe four blocks, I have working feet." Maybe she should have called though, her feet were soaked and the walk back didn't sound like any sort of fun.

"YOU ARE IN A VERY DELICATE CONDITION, YOU SHOULDN'T BE OUT IN THIS WEATHER."

It was a good thing that he couldn't see that she wasn't wearing a coat. "I'm stronger than I look."

"SANS! GO WARM UP THE CAR, WE'RE GOING ON A RESCUE MISSION!"

"You really don't need t-t - __achoo!__ \- Pap, I'm fine."

"AS THE BEST UNCLE EVER, I CANNOT ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER. WHICH GAS STATION ARE YOU AT?"

"Since when are you my uncle, Papyrus?" That could get weird fast.

"NOT YOURS, SILLY HUMAN, THE BABY'S!"

Right. Sans had said he had taken the news well.. "I'm at the new Conch Station on East Froggit Drive. __Uh__. Wear a coat, it's a bit chilly."

"WE WILL BE THERE SOON! DON'T GO ANYWHERE." __Click__.

Frisk paid for her drink and gas can - she'd buy gas when they arrived - and shuffled over to the little table in the back to sip at it while she waited to be rescued, shivering a little as the dampness of her clothes continued to chill her. She blew her nose on one a napkin, praying to any deity that would listen that she wouldn't get sick.

The warmth of the coffee made her tummy feel warmer at least, and she hoped her little one was doing okay. She really needed to start thinking about more than herself. Would it really have killed her to grab her coat, or to have filled up her car the other day?

She heard the jingle of the door opening and Papyrus crash in. "HUMAN! I AM HERE TO RESCUE YOU!" He was carrying a large fluffy blanket.

"I'm right here." She called, and Pap rushed over to her.

"HUMAN! WHERE IS YOUR COAT? YOU'RE SOAKING WET! I DON'T THINK IT IS GOOD FOR YOU TO BE WET AND COLD!"

"It's not recommended, but I think I'll make it. Thanks for coming to get me."

"YOU ARE MOST WELCOME! YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

She held back another sneeze. "You're the best, Pap."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW LET'S GET YOU SOMEPLACE WARM."

She stood up. "Great plan. I want to rescue my car though."

"ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF! WE PUT GAS IN IT AND SANS IS DRIVING IT BACK."

"How- oh wait. You guys have the spare keys." Sans never gave them back after he borrowed it last summer.

"YOU GAVE US QUITE THE SCARE YOU KNOW - WAIT. ARE YOU DRINKING COFFEE? YOU SHOULDN'T BE HAVING CAFFEINE RIGHT NOW."

Frisk really hoped her pregnancy was going to be short, because if this was any indication of how it was going to be, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. "It's just hot cocoa."

"BUT YOU HATE GAS STATION COCOA."

She sighed. "I'll be okay, Papyrus, it's just a cappuccino."

"I'M SORRY, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CONFISCATE IT, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."

She tossed it in the trash begrudgingly. It was really going to be a long couple of months.

Papyrus insisted upon carrying her from his car to the house, as the wind had filled the driveway with snow, and she didn't have the energy to argue.

She was really not prepared, however, for how concerned Sans was. "Frisk, you're cold to the touch. Where's your coat?"

"At home. I'm fine." He was pulling her shoes and socks off for her, and while it was nice to get them off, she could do it herself.

"Papyrus, go get a bath started for her." Sans instructed, while he tried to rub some feeling back into her toes. She could barely feel his fingers. "If I had known you were-"

She pulled away from him. " _ _Sans__. I'm okay. I got cold, I'll survive."

"You can't be getting sick right now, it's not-"

"I'm not going to get -" A coughing fit overtook her. She had been feeling a little sniffley that morning, it wasn't because of getting cold, she told herself. She could have handled the situation. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.

He sighed. "Come on, a hot bath will do you good."

"I don't have anything to change into."

"You have what you left here the other day, I even washed them for you."

Frisk suddenly remembered leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor after her shower - she had meant to grab them but had gone to the emergency room instead. That meant Sans had totally seen her really embarrassing panties with cats on them and she could not deal with that at the moment. "You didn't have to do that. And you don't need to take care of me right now, really. I'm okay."

"I know, but just humor me, okay? A bath and then we can curl up on the couch."

That didn't sound too bad. "If you insist." She got up. "Hey, aren't Undyne and Alphys supposed to be here?"

"Alphys is finishing up an experiment, and they'll head over."

Alphys would probably be late to her own funeral because she had been finishing up an experiment, so Frisk didn't expect them to arrive anytime soon.

However, as Frisk was just slipping into the tub, having chased her concerned rescuers out of the bathroom so she could undress, she heard Undyne's extremely loud voice. She was worse than Papyrus sometimes.

Sans did have a point, the warm water helped a lot. She could feel the chill that had seeped into her bones begin to dissipate, and she allowed herself to close her eyes and relax for a few moments.

The water was starting to cool off a bit when she heard a quiet knock on the door. "HUMAN, I PUT A TOWEL IN THE DRYER FOR YOU, ARE YOU READY TO GET OUT?"

"I am, have Alphy's bring it- __Hey__!" She grabbed the curtain and pulled it as closed as Papyrus opened the door a crack, set the towel on the counter, and closed it again.

He had __some__ tact. A thimbleful, maybe, but she loved him anyway.

She pulled the plug and grabbed the towel, reveling in its warmth. Maybe she liked being taken care of - just a little - but it still bothered her. She could __definitely__ take care of herself, even if it didn't always seem like it. She had been doing fine by herself, and just because her kid had magic now didn't mean anything.

She just couldn't maintain it's magic levels by herself or sense anything from it at all. But that was okay. Or at least, she was pretending it didn't upset her.

She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to see if she could notice any sort of baby bump, but other than her usual layer of pudge - albeit she had definetly gained the freshman fifteen - she was found lacking.

Finally, enticed by the delicious smells that permeated the house and feeling quite ravenous after all her adventures, she slipped into her comfy pajamas (and nice, dry cat themed underwear) and went to meet her friends in the kitchen, where she could hear them having a heated debate about something.

She wasn't even surprised to see Sans and Undyne at each other's throats - blasters whining and spears shimmering in midair. Alphys and Papyrus were elsewhere, and Frisk wished she had gone looking for them first.

"Now this feels familiar." Frisk said, and they both turned to look at her, weapons dissipating immediately. That was a first.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Sans asked, as though he hadn't just been in the middle of a battle.

"Better. What were you two fighting about this time?"

He paused, pensively, before turning to Undyne. "Do you remember?"

Undyne shrugged. "Doesn't matter, dweeb." Of course.

Sans rolled the lights in his eyes. "Are you hungry, Frisk? Pap's made a little of everything."

"Starving, actually." She admitted.

"You are eating for two now." Undyne teased.

"Does that mean I get first dibs on the cocktail weenies?"

"Unless you mean Sans, absolutely not."

She had walked into that one.

After filling a plate up with more food than she could eat, and then a little more because Papyrus insisted, Frisk curled up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket to watch Rudolph with her friends, feeling a bit sniffly still, but otherwise better.

Shamelessly, she lay her head on Sans' shoulder, and he offered her a chip coated in cheese dip, which she accepted. While she had gotten upset with him earlier, it was nice to know that he had her back. And while it bothered her a little that it had only happened because the kid was his, she really couldn't blame him.

She also wasn't sure how to describe what they were now, but this state of being between lovers and friends seemed to work for her. She might even try to kiss him later, assuming Papyrus didn't call and interrupt. The kiss he had pressed to her forehead had been more than enough to fill her with butterflies, and she was excited for more.

She stole a glance at him, he was humming along to the song about being more than a misfit that Alphys and Papyrus were currently belting, a genuine smile on his face. She felt her heart swell with happiness.

Sans put his plate and hers - somehow she had managed to eat everything - on the floor in front of them. "Hey Frisk, I've got a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"If you were a pirate, would you want your parrot on this shoulder -" He put his hand on the shoulder closest to him, "Or this one?" He put his arm around her, resting his hand on her other shoulder.  
Did he just - "Your pickup lines are worse than your puns." She replied, nuzzling her head into his neck. Nerd.

Of course, she was the one that fell for him.

"When's the wedding, you two?" Undyne snickered.

"Didn't you get your invitation?" Sans replied with a rude gesture.

"I don't think I got it, want to send it again?" Undyne challenged.

"Here you go, Undyne." Frisk replied with the middle fingers of both hands. "Try not to lose these ones."

"That's some way to thank one of the people that finally brought you two together." Alphys teased.

"When's __your__ wedding, guys?." Frisk replied, pleased when Alphys' cheeks darkened.

Undyne, however, was oblivious to her girlfriend's blush, and shrugged. "We've got all the time in the world."

Sans' expression fell, and Frisk couldn't help but feel bad. She had no idea how it felt, being human, but this kid changed a lot of things about how his magic worked and his life expectancy.

"I CAN'T HEAR THE MOVIE."

"Sorry, Papyrus." Frisk said softly to the disgruntled skeleton that was splayed out on the floor, before nuzzling the quiet one beside her. She couldn't fix things, but she could be there for him, like he always was for her.

They were all quiet for some time, and Frisk felt herself getting sleepy around the part about the island of misfit toys - which was a shame because it was her favorite part. Sans' arm had fallen to her side, and he was drawing lazy circles on her hip with one finger.

She had always been afraid of getting into a relationship with him because she worried that it would be awkward, but this she could live with. Things weren't quite defined, but she didn't really see either of them considering anyone else anytime soon, and that worked for her.

She nestled in closer to Sans, happy to steal his body heat as he was always so much warmer than her, before deciding to wrap her blanket around the both of them.

"Good to see you two getting comfy over there." Alphys giggled. Didn't they have anything better to do than tease them?

"Remember now Frisk, good girls wait until at least the third date." Undyne cackled, and Frisk couldn't help but get irritated.

"WAIT UNTIL THE THIRD DATE FOR WHAT?"

"For uh, kisses, Papyrus." Alphys said quickly.

"UNLESS MISTLETOE IS INVOLVED, OF COURSE."

"Exactly." Undyne winked. Frisk suddenly remembered seeing some hanging in the doorway to the kitchen. They weren't getting her that easily.

Well, knowing her friends, they were very likely to get her that way, but at least she knew what to watch out for. Frisk just really, really wished they'd stop meddling. Glancing over at the offending plant, she decided to take matters into her own hands, rather than risk whatever her friends could be planning.

While her friends were distracted by the movie once again, Frisk removed herself from Sans' embrace - that was the hard part, and slipped into the kitchen. A pair of tongs and an unsteady moment on her tiptoes later, and she had a pocket full of mistletoe, as well as another plate of chips and cheese, to celebrate her victory.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, but at least there would be no awkward mistletoe kisses for her.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think! :)**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	12. Contentment

**AN: I am so sorry this chapter took so long! Working full time is exhausting but I am back with what feels like a vengeance. Or at least, with a chapter full of fluff before I get the plot moving some more. :)**

* * *

Chapter Twelve - Contentment

"What are you grinning about?" Sans asked Frisk as she nestled back in beside him. She had returned from the kitchen with one of her self-satisfied grins, and he had to know what was up.

"Nothing." She replied quickly, feigning innocence as Sans wrapped the blanket back around the two of them. "Chip?" She offered him one, still grinning a little.

He shook his head, he had already eaten too much. "Come on." He whispered as she returned her attention to the movie - Alphys had insisted that they watch Frosty the Snowman. "Did you eat the last of the cocktail weenies or something?" They were Undyne's favorite, but tied for Frisk's, and neither of them were very good at sharing, no matter how many of them were made.

"Nope."

"Then what is that grin for?"

She was silent except for the crunch of her chips and the occasional sniffle, but the pink on her cheeks made him burn with curiosity. Deciding that he'd get it out of her eventually, he relaxed and let his arm fall back around her side.

"What's in your pocket?" He asked, finding a bulge that hadn't been there before.

She quickly pushed his hand away with an expression like a cat caught trying to eat a pet canary. "Nothing."

"Doesn't feel like nothing." He replied with a grin of his own, trying to get her fingers out of the way so he could figure out what she had.

"I'll show you later, just trust me you don't -"

"Oi! Hand check!" Undyne called.

Frisk's hands went up first - bad move - because Sans' went up clutching whatever was in her pocket. It wasn't until Alphys and Undyne started laughing that he realized that it was - of all things - mistletoe. Great.

"Just couldn't wait, could you?" Alphys teased, and Frisk groaned.

"WHY DID YOU MOVE THE MISTLETOE?"

"I was trying to make sure you guys wouldn't use it against us.."

Well that had gone great. "Nice try Frisk, but it looks like you two are under the mistletoe and you know what that means." Undyne said in that annoying singsong voice she had.

Sans felt himself blush, but he could do this, it was just a first kiss with his best friend in front of all their other friends - but Frisk, looking determined or something similar - seemed to have other ideas because before he could think or move she was getting closer - a bit too eager to respond he all but jolted forward, and instead of a kiss he felt her teeth crush her lip into his.

Frisk made a cry of pain and pulled away from him, squeezing her eyes shut tight and holding her mouth with one hand.

He felt something wet on his teeth, touching his fingers to it he came back with blood. Their friends seemed at a loss for words - served them right, this was the second time their meddling had gotten her hurt - but that wasn't the point. "Are you okay?" He asked, and she nodded, but didn't move her hand. "Can I see?" He put one hand on hers and she allowed him to pull hers away.

Her top lip was split open, and already beginning to swell. He had seen worse, he had helped her learn to ice skate after all, but still. Humans just had too many soft parts for their own good.

"How bad is it?" She asked, sounding a little funny.

"Well your bottom lip is fine. Would you like me to rough it up as well so they match?" He joked, wracking his brain to remember the correct remedy.

"How about an ice pack instead?" She asked. Right. Ice packs for bruises and swelling, he knew that.

"I'LL GET IT!" Pap was on his feet before Sans could react, and he suddenly became aware of giggling from Alphys and Undyne.

"She's fine, thanks for asking, guys." He gave them an annoyed look.

Frisk put her hand on his. "It is a little funny." She smiled despite him being pretty certain that smiling had to hurt.

Papyrus returned then with an ice pack, which Frisk held tenderly to her face as they continued the movie, Sans trying his best to contain his frustration - not only at their friends - but at himself. They couldn't help but meddle and he couldn't help but injure her. He hated to think of her as fragile, but she was human and humans were pretty frail, all things considering, and it seemed to him that it was only due to their determination that they didn't fall apart.

Frisk nuzzled her head into his shoulder, and he gently lay his head on top of hers. Strange forces and differences aside, she seemed to be happy with her unnecessary softness, and Sans had to admit that it suited her well, even if she did injure easily. She was beautiful, warm, and content to snuggle up with him, and that was all he really wanted. Except maybe a do-over on that kiss, but that could definitely wait.

"How's your lip?" He asked, once she had given up on the ice pack.

"A little tender, but I think I'll make it."

"Maybe I should kiss it better."

She giggled. "Maybe later."

"HUMAN, FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON, WILL YOU HOLD MY HAND?" They seemed to be getting to the part of the movie that always upset Papyrus.

"Of course Pap, come here." She patted the spot beside her, and Papyrus scrambled into it, taking Frisk's offered hand in his.

"The kid in this movie is as good at keeping themselves warm as you are, Frisk." Sans teased, as the title snowman carried his human charge into the greenhouse.

"THIS IS NO JOKING MATTER, SANS." Papyrus exclaimed, a tiny orange bead shining in one of his eye sockets. Oh Papyrus. Sans knew that he would be okay in a minute when the movie ended happy, but he still couldn't help but be concerned over his brother's discomfort.

"You know it's always the same ending, right Pap?" Undyne said in her best attempt at a soothing tone.

"IT COULD BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME." Pap sniffled a little.

"You can't cry Pap, you have to stay strong for me." Frisk insisted, head-butting him gently. Sans had never realized it before, but she seemed to have picked up the gesture from him and his brother. It was cute that she did it as well.

"WELL.."

"You heard the girl Pap, baby bones needs you."

"I'm not a baby bones!" Frisk said indignantly, as the snowman became a puddle.

"I didn't mean you."

Frisk shot him a look of betrayal as Papyrus, bound by duty, pulled Frisk close and began reassuring her and the baby that the movie didn't have a bad ending. "SEE, EVERYTHING IS OKAY NOW." Pap said as the movie ended, as if he wasn't the one that was worried about it.

"Do we want to watch another movie? I brought How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Alphys said with a yawn.

Frisk yawned too, still in Pap's captive hold, who was drooping as well.

"I think it's bedtime." Sans replied. "Especially for these two sleepy-heads."

"For once I'll have to agree with you." Undyne said, and Alphys nudged her.

Frisk yawned again. "Did you two fill up my car, or am I going to need to stop on the way home?"

Sans suddenly wished he had opted for another movie because he really didn't want Frisk to leave. He knew it was a bit ridiculous, but he wasn't quite ready to return her to her parents. "I'll drive you home after Pap's story."

"THAT WAY THE BABY CAN HEAR THE STORY TOO!"

Frisk smiled softly, no doubt amused by the thought. Not even the loud 'aww' from the peanut gallery could ruin the thought for him.

After seeing Undyne and Alphys out - Papyrus having loaded them up with food, the three of them trotted upstairs to Papyrus' room to read their story.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO PICK THE STORY?" Papyrus offered, gesturing to his bookshelf.

"That's okay Pap, pick something good out for me." Frisk replied, perching on the edge of his bed.

"FLUFFY BUNNY IT IS!"

Sans tried his best not to seem disappointed. Papyrus had so many books to choose from, after all. He had made sure of it. "Can't argue with the classics."

Of course, Papyrus was asleep within minutes, even with the added excitement of Frisk being there to hear his favorite story again. Unfortunately, that hadn't left Sans with much time to think of ways to convince Frisk to stay, or even if he should.

"I had better get you home." He said, the door to Pap's room clicking closed behind them.

"Yeah.." She said softly, almost as if she didn't want to agree. He also noticed that the swelling in her lip seemed to have gone down, which was good on the not-getting-murdered-by-her-protective-mother front.

He suddenly realized that neither of them had moved or spoken for a few moments. "Or you could - heh - let me grab my keys."

"I could what?"

"You could stay over, if you wanted." He was really not enjoying this newfound awkward feeling between them, but he couldn't say he didn't expect it.

"I probably -" she paused, chewing at her bottom lip. "Well, it was still snowing still when Undyne and Alphys left.."

It had slowed down quite a bit from earlier, the roads were fine, but.. "I wouldn't want to take the princess out in unsafe weather."

"I suppose you had better cuddle with me to protect me from the cold."

"I think we can make that happen." He felt like he had won some kind of award. She was staying. It was like a dream come true.

"Which side of the bed do you want?" He asked as he closed the door to his room behind them, knowing full well that the uncertainty between them would dissipate, at least for the most part, once they were snuggled up and comfortable.

"Which side do you usually sleep on?" She asked, sitting cautiously on the end of his bed like she hadn't napped there more times than he could count. This seemed different, somehow.

"Wherever I drop, usually." Why was he being so cautious all of a sudden? She used to come over after school to nap with him. Why was this any different?

"You're not helping." She stuck out her tongue.

Maybe he was just overthinking things. He flopped into bed, pulling her down with him. "How about this?"

"Saans." She squawked, pulling herself out his awkward embrace. He closed his eyes and pretended to snore, and she smacked him with a pillow. "You promised me cuddles, you weirdo." He responded by flopping his arms out, one of them landing in her lap. This earned him another smack. "Come on." She dropped the pillow onto his face and lay her head on it, and he responded by scooping her up into his embrace, rolling both of them over to their sides in order to wrap his legs around her as well. "This isn't cuddling! It's like a weird bear trap!" She tried her best to wriggle out of his embrace. "Saaannnns I didn't sign up for this."

He couldn't help but giggle at her, still doing her best to wriggle away from him. "Looks like I've captured a human." He teased.

"Oh my god, if you start that again I swear."

"What am I starting?"

"That ridiculous capturing game again. Just don't get Papyrus started on it again, okay?" It had been her and Pap's favorite game when she was younger, but she had grown out of it faster than he had.

"But it's his favorite game."

"Sans please."

"Oh all right. But it looks like you owe me a ransom." He did have her captured, after all.

"Sans." She groaned, pressing her head into his arm.

"Those are the rules." He sang.

"Whatever it is, no."

"I can't have a kiss?"

She sighed. "Sans, you could have just asked in a normal way."

"Nah, this way is more fun."

"Okay, fine. But only because I was going to anyway. Now let me go."

"If I have to." He loosened his embrace and she rolled over to face him.

"You're the worst sometimes, you know that, right?"

"I try my best to be." He smirked.

"Okay, that smirk has got to go."

"And how are you going to -" She silenced him by pressing her lips to his mouth, gingerly with her split lip. His magic crackled somewhere in his ribcage, a warm emanating from his soul. He wasn't quite sure how to kiss her back, but making up for inexperience with enthusiasm, held the back of her head gently in one hand, pressing his closed mouth against hers. Despite his magic sparking where her lips met his, it seemed more like she was kissing him than he was kissing her, but she didn't seem to mind. Or at least, he hoped she didn't.

She was grinning when she pulled softly away from him, and he couldn't help but return her expression. She was so cute, her hair falling around her face and a blissful smile brightening up the room. Or perhaps it was the blue glow from his own blushing cheeks. It didn't matter.

He also couldn't help but go for another kiss, a shorter one this time, quickly pressing his mouth to hers. She all but jumped him when he pulled back, giggling and pressing a handful of short kisses to his mouth before burying her face into his neck with a coo.

"Happy?" He asked, pulling her closer with one arm.

She murmured something affirmative, and contented with her answer, he pressed a kiss into her hair, his entire body still crackling with energy. He felt like he could run a marathon, but he was also more than perfectly content to lie there with Frisk in his arms.

"We should sleep." She murmured, pressing a kiss into his neck, his magic crackling where her soft lips met his bone.

Although not feeling as tired as he had previously, he had to agree, and they rearranged themselves to lie more comfortably on the bed, Sans curling himself back around Frisk as she lay on her side, his fingers curling around her soft stomach.

That reminded him. "I'm going to share a little magic with you, if that's okay?"

"Gotta take care of baby bones." She replied, and he grinned, pressing another kiss to her hair. She smelled like cinnamon and warm sugar, and he never wanted to let her out of his embrace.

Having almost forgotten what he was doing, he called out to their little one with comforting magic, their response timid but stronger than before, with a magic that felt so similar but yet different from his own, like it was evolving into something else. Still, he offered them his energy, starting to feel sleepy as it was drawn from him, Frisk's skin growing warmer beneath his fingers.

"How are they?" She murmured sleepily, moving her hand to rest on top of his.

"Sleeping now, I think. They're getting stronger." He replied as she rolled onto her back, entwining their fingers on her warm stomach.

"Good." She smiled softly, her blinks growing slower until her eyes stayed closed. "Sleep now?"

He murmured in response, wrapping his arm that lay beneath her head around her shoulders, and laying his heavy head beside hers.

"Goodnight." She said softly, attempting to nuzzle him but running out of energy halfway.

"Goodnight." He replied, removing his fingers from hers long enough to pull the quilt over them, before entwining them again with hers, where they belonged. Soon enough, warm and content, they fell asleep.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	13. What We Do for Love

**AN: first things first. It has been way too long. I won't make a million excuses, but my laptop battery went out and I lost this chapter a couple times, and with that going on with my health issues, I haven't had the energy to rewrite what I lost. But that's not whats important. Importantly, I'm back, and I just want to say thank you to all of you for being super supportive while I wasn't writing. Like all the puns and just sweet reviews in general have meant so much to me. I appreciate all of you so much, and we're going to get to the end of this thing together, okay?**

 **This is the only chapter I have written right now, but I've got a few plotted and I'm working on getting the whole plot written out so I don't forget things. Anyway. I hope to have another chapter within the next few days, but until then, I hope you enjoy this one :)**

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Chapter Thirteen - What We Do for Love

Frisk awoke to the sound of whispering "She's okay, Your Majesty - Tori. She's okay, Tori. She must have just forgotten to tell you she wouldn't be home last night."

Shit.

"Why would I lie to you? She's perfectly fine, I'm looking at her right now. She's sleeping."

Frisk opened her eyes at that point and looked at Sans. He was standing over by his desk where his phone was plugged in, and he smiled a little upon noticing that she was awake.

"Do you want me to wake her up?"

Frisk held her hand out to take the phone from him, but he shook his head. "I'll definitely have her call you when she wakes up - Mhm - Yes, I'll make sure to let you know in the future, I'm sure she didn't mean to - Alright, talk to you later." It was really admirable how well he could handle her mother.

"You so owe me." He said, setting his phone down.

"Sure I do." She replied, looking around for her phone before finding it on the floor, it having died sometime in the night. "Can I use your charger?"

"You'll owe me double, then." He replied, flopping back down on the bed as Frisk plugged her phone back in. She switched it on and leaned against the desk, waiting to see how many calls she had missed.

"Take your bets, how many missed messages?"

"Hm. Twelve texts, thirty, no twenty five calls, and… five voicemails."

"Mom never leaves voicemails, you know that. She just keeps calling. Thirty calls and five texts is my bet."

Her phone started buzzing and chiming violently as soon as it finished booting back up. "Eight texts so far.. nine but one is from Alphys saying they got home safe." She paused to yawn. It was too early. "Twenty three missed calls."

"So what did I win?"

She set her phone down and crawled back into bed beside him. "More sleep."

"My favorite." He replied, pulling her against him.

She was almost asleep when she was awoken by a sound she couldn't quite place. A slightly metallic tune, it reminded her of -

"Paps, it is too early for Mettaton re-runs." Sans grumbled, his face pressed into a pillow.

"I think that's my phone." Her ringtone for Mettaton was the opening theme to his talk show, but she hadn't talked to him since he had called to tell her that he couldn't make it to her graduation party. He had been filming in another country for his new movie or something.

She climbed out of bed and grabbed her phone, feeling compelled to see what the famous bot was doing calling her.

She had had barely had the chance to say hello before Mettaton's loud, sickly sweet voice was smothering her.

"Frisk, my darling! How have you been - well, fabulously, I'm sure. Dearest, I don't have much time to talk, I'm very busy, you know, but I just heard the nastiest rumor about you and I have to hear it put to rest before I could possibly go on stage."

This couldn't be good. "What's the rumor, Mettaton?" Her voice sounded slightly strange with the stuffy nose she had managed to acquire, but she ignored it.

"I'm certain it's not true, after all, you would have so much more taste, but not only did I hear that you were dating a certain lazy skeleton, but I heard that you, my dear little Frisk, are pregnant. And I just couldn't believe it, after all -"

"Mettaton." She said, trying to get him to stop talking and listen for once, but he continued to ramble about how he had told off the person that had given him the news. " _ _Mettaton__." No dice. Whelp. Desperate times called for desperate measures. "Uncle Ton-Ton, listen to me." She whined, like she was a bratty child. Sans snickered and she replied instinctively by flipping him the bird.

"Yes, darling?"

"Sans and I are. Well." She should have just let him chatter until he forgot what he was calling about. "We are having a. Um. The rumor wasn't exactly incorrect."

She heard a loud, high pitched shriek that dissolved into a noise not unlike a dial-up modem starting up, like his voice always got when he got too excited. "Darling! You must come on my talk show, as the mother of the first monster-human child, it's a -"

"No. Absolutely not." She cut him off, for once. "This doesn't need to be a big deal, really."

"Frisk, darling, how can this not be a big deal. You've __always__ been a sensation and this little stunt -"

"It's not a stunt, Mettaton, it was an accident, for one -" Sans had taken her phone from her at this point and Frisk couldn't be more grateful.

"It had to be an accident, darling." She could still hear the loud robots voice, despite her phone no longer being against her ear. "No one would -"

"Do you really want to finish that sentence?" Sans asked.

"Hello, Sans." Mettaton said, missing most of his usual cheerfulness. "Would you kindly give Frisk back her phone?"

Sans gave her a look as if to ask permission to be a jerk, and not wanting to be convinced to go on television, Frisk nodded in response. While she wasn't exactly sure why Sans and Mettaton disliked each other, but she wasn't above using it to her advantage.

"That depends, __Ton-Ton__ , are you going to stop trying to turn my girlfriend's life into a scandal?"

Frisk didn't process the next few things that were said, as she was currently trying to process the casual way that Sans referred to her as his girlfriend.

She really wasn't the type to melt over something like that, but there she was, melting.

"We'll want to wait until she's showing a little bit more, of course-"

"I said we'll think about it, don't get your bolts in a twist."

"That wasn't even remotely funny, Sans."

Wait a minute.

" _ _Sans__. No. We are not thinking about this." Curse that charismatic bot. She held out her hand in demand of her phone.

"We'll talk about it and give you a decision later." Sans said, not relinquishing her phone.

"No." She said indignantly. "Decision now. I'm not doing it."

"I was hoping you'd come around." She heard Mettaton say, as though he couldn't hear her, and Sans ended the call.

"What was that? You were supposed to tell him no." That was the last time she let herself get distracted by the butterflies in her stomach.

"I uh. He reminded me that I owe him a favor. And I hate being in debt to anyone, but especially Mettaton."

She sighed. "You can fulfill it another way. I'm not doing this."

"I said I'd try to convince you. Try. You don't have to do it." He held her phone out to her.

"Good." She took her phone and set it back on the desk. "Why do you owe him a favor, anyway?"

"Do you remember when Pap went through his obsession with Mythbusters?" Speaking of Papyrus, she heard the sound of his alarm clock blaring from the next room.

"I remember that." She had seen the episode he was in at least fifty times.

"Mettaton made it happen. His network owns their show, after all."

"His network owns everything."

"Right."

Frisk yawned, laying her head against Sans' shoulderblade. "People probably will be curious, once word gets out about baby bones here." She mused, resting one hand against her stomach. It wasn't flat by any means, as she had always been short and round, so she wasn't sure if she'd ever actually show.

"You're not actually considering going on Mettaton's show, are you?"

"No. Well. I'll think about it." She wasn't sure why she was even considering it, but I would make Mettaton happy, and there were perks to staying on his good side.

There was a very loud knock on the door. "SANS! WAKE UP! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD GO FOR A JOG WITH ME TODAY!"

"I said I'd walk around town and look at the Gyftmas decorations with you." He called back.

"AND I SAID A JOG WOULD MAKE IT BETTER."

Sans sighed. "Just give me a few to get dressed."

"THAT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO FALL BACK ASLEEP!" The door swung open. "COME ON - FRISK! I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU WERE HERE! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?"

"I uh, never left."  
"I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE HAVING A SLEEPOVER! IN THAT CASE WE MUST MAKE A SPECIAL SLEEPOVER BREAKFAST!" Before Frisk could protest, Papyrus had scooped her up and was carrying her out the door.

"Papyrus!" Sans called after them, Papyrus stopping by the top of the stairs.

"YES SANS? - OH. RIGHT." He carefully set her down. "MY APOLOGIES. YOU ARE AN ADULT HUMAN NOW. AND ADULT HUMANS ARE NOT TO BE CARRIED. EXCEPT FOR IN EMERGENCIES." He looked at Sans for approval, and received a thumbs up in response. Frisk could only assume this was a conversation that they had recently.

"It's okay Pap, it's my own fault for asking for so many piggy back rides when I was little." Papyrus had carried her around so much when she was younger, her mother had teased that she was going to forget how to walk.

"AT LEAST YOU ARE GIVING ME SOMEONE NEW TO CARRY AROUND SOON." He paused. "HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT?"

Frisk giggled. "It's going to be a few months at least. It needs to get a little cuter still."

"I'M SURE IT'S VERY CUTE NOW."

"It's mostly just a soul and magic right now, bro. Give it a little while to look like something."

"Hey." Frisk said defensively. "It's a very cute cloud right now." As in in response, her tummy made a little grumble.

"A hungry cloud, apparently." Sans said. "What are we making for breakfast, Pap?"  
"ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO HELP?"  
"I intended to."

"YOU GET TO MAKE EGGS AND BACON THEN. WILL YOU MAKE YOUR SUPER SPECIAL APPLE SALAD, FRISK?"  
The apple salad was actually her mother's recipe, but it was the one thing Frisk could make that Papyrus could never quite get the hang of. "I think I can manage that." She replied, following Papyrus down the stairs. "What are you going to make?"  
"WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE MUFFINS OR PANCAKES?"

"Is the waffle iron still out of commission?" Frisk asked, more to make sure that the gift she had planned hadn't been spoiled.

"SANS STILL WON'T LET ME BUY A NEW ONE." She knew she could count on him.

"Just trust me on this one, bro."

"I HAVE BEEN TRUSTING YOU ON THIS FOR TWO WHOLE MONTHS."

Frisk had managed to find one that made waffles in the shape of Jack Skellington's face, they were going to be up to their ears in waffles for months. "Will you make the cinnamon muffins that I like?" She asked, hoping to distract him.

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus replied, already beginning to grab ingredients from the cupboard.

"Will you grab the mini marshmallows off to top shelf for me?" She asked, grabbing the bowl of apples off the counter.

"Speaking of marshmallows, would you like some cocoa?" Sans asked as he turned on the coffeepot. "I got those cinnamon sticks you like."

"Sounds good." She replied, giving him a little smile. He took such good care of her, but she really worried sometimes that she didn't do as much for him as he did for her. Of course, Sans was not the type to ever seem like he needed anything, except for maybe a nap, but she wanted to take care of him as well. More than anything.

Of course, being pregnant made it difficult for her to even be able to take care of herself - not that she was stellar at it before, and she was already starting to get a little tired of it.

"FRISK. I HAVE A FAVOR TO ASK OF YOU."

She looked up from cutting apples and feeling sorry for herself. "What do you need, Paps?"

"I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD BE A SPECIAL GUEST ON ONE OF MY VIDEOS?"

Papyrus ran a youtube channel that was mostly advice and motivation, but she had been a special guest once before - they had done a special baking episode. "What is the episode about?"

"I MENTIONED ON MY LAST VIDEO THAT I WAS GOING TO BE AN UNCLE, AND I GOT A LOT OF REQUESTS TO MAKE A VIDEO WITH YOU."

That explained where Mettaton got his information from. "I'd love to, but if I do an episode about baby bones with you, Mettaton will be upset that I didn't go on his show as well." And the last thing she needed was Mettaton upset at her. Refusing both of them was one thing, but making an episode with Papyrus after telling the vengeful bot no was another.

"METTATON ASKED YOU TO BE ON HIS SHOW?"

Maybe she should have worded things differently. "Uh. Yeah."

"YOU HAVE TO GO ON METTATON'S SHOW. YOU'LL BE FAMOUS!"

She already was, sort of, but that was beside the point. "I don't know how good of an idea that is, Pap.." She looked over at Sans for guidance, but he didn't seem to have any to offer.

"IT WILL BE THE GREATEST IDEA. ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME!" His excitement could not be contained it seemed. "CAN I GO WITH YOU?"

She looked at Papyrus, at a loss for words. How could she tell him no? "Oh all right. I'll call Mettaton after breakfast and tell him."

Papyrus was an even greater bundle of energy than usual after that, chattering about how he had seen every episode of Mettaton's show, and how his channel followers would be so excited that he was going to be famous, and every other thing that involved the idea of being on television again.

Soon, they had cleared away breakfast dishes, and with her tummy full of cinnamon muffins and apple salad, Frisk braced herself to talk to Mettaton for the second time that day.

Despite Frisk's prayers that he would be too busy, he picked up on the second ring. "Hello darling, have you called me with good news?"

"I know better than to call you with bad news." She replied, with only the slightest amount of sass.

"Frisk dear, you know there is no bad news, only bad reporting. __Anything__ can be good news if you tell it correctly. Now. I don't have much time before I have to get back on stage dear, will you be joining me on stage soon?"  
"Yes, but -" She paused and pulled her phone away from her ear as the bot screeched in happiness. Why he hadn't gotten that fixed yet, she didn't know, but she had heard from Alphys that he had gotten buggy since finding a different mechanic..

"Excellent darling! Is your email still the same? I'll have my costume designer get in touch with you, you have to look absolutely fabulous! And of course -"

"Mettaton. I said but."

He paused, and she could just see the pout on his face, despite not being able to see him. "I heard you dear. What's your little condition?"

"Sans AND Papyrus will be going on with me." She said, and Sans gave her a look.

"Me? Oh no. No way." Sans started, but she gestured at him to wait.

"I unfortunately had to assume that you'd want your little boyfriend on air with you as well. Alright. And his brother too, the more the merrier I suppose." He paused for a moment. "I have to go, but you take care of yourself, my little gem." Click.

"Now what was that about me being on the episode with you?"

"You're not going to let Papyrus and me go on alone, are you?"  
"I figured I'd wait in the dressing room. Frisk, I'm not exactly photogenic."

"And I am? Come on. I can't do this without you."

"I don't know why you're doing this in the first place."

"I couldn't say no to Papyrus."

He sighed. "Couldn't Pap have picked someone else to idolize?" The tall skeleton in question was showering, and therefore could not hear his only brother question his interests.

"Mettaton was the star of the underground." She replied, looking down at her phone. "I should probably call my mother while I'm at it, huh?"

"Probably a good idea."

"Right." Speed-dial one was her mother, and she picked up on the second ring.

"Hello my child, have you finally arisen to meet the day?"

"I have, Momma. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you I wouldn't be home last night." She leaned against Sans, who had started playing a game on his phone, and he lay his head against hers.

"It is alright dear, I should have assumed, given the snowstorm, but I was worried that you had tried to drive in it and. None the less. I am glad that you are okay."

"I'll make sure to let you know next time. I promise." She felt bad for making her mother worry, she could only imagine what she had imagined had happened. Her mother was good at assuming the worst case scenario, especially when it came to Frisk's safety.

"My child, your voice sounds strange. Are you alright?"

"It's just a stuffy nose, I'm okay." She was definetly not going to tell her mother about running out of gas last night.

Her mother was quiet for a moment. "Alright dear, just make sure you're drinking enough fluids. Your throat sounded a little sore yesterday as well."

She wasn't wrong, and it was a bit sore today as well, not that she was going to admit it. "I have been, don't worry."

"Alright dear. I'm at the grocery store now so I can't talk for very long. Do you need anything?"

She paused. "Um, will you get me some ice cream? Do they still have the cinnamon flavor or was that seasonal?"

"It's seasonal, dear. Don't you ever get tired of cinnamon?"

"How can you get tired of the best? The peppermint flavor is good I suppose, if they have that."

"They should. Will you be on your way home soon?"

"Do you need me to be?"

"Not necessarily, but I do need someone to deliver a check to Muffet's bakery before they close today. I left it on the kitchen counter like a silly." Frisk felt bad, she usually assisted her mother with the last minute things for the celebration, but she had been rather wrapped up in her own issues the last few days.

"I can do it. Is she making treats for the Gyftmas celebration?"

"Yes. Speaking of that, what are you wearing tomorrow, dear? I know we hadn't had a chance to finish our conversation on the matter last night.."

"Um. One second." She turned to Sans. "Hey, can I borrow one of your ugly sweaters?"

"Sure thing. Which one do you want?"

"You pick, anything is better than a dress." She replied quietly.

"I think I'm going to wear a sweater with my friends, if that's okay? You can dress baby bones and me up any way you'd like next year." She returned to her mother as Sans got off the couch and disappeared from her vision. She hated it when he did that.

"Baby bones?" He mother asked, confused.

"It's what we've been calling the baby, it started as a joke I think and it stuck."

Her mother giggled. "My child, you are full of charm."

"I'll see you when you get home, Mom. Is there any other errands I can run for you?"

"Well.." It looked like her work was cut out for her.

"Send me a text, okay? I love you."

"I love you too." Click.

Sans appeared then, with a folded sweater in his arms. Frisk was curious as to if it had been folded previously, or if he had just folded it, but she didn't ask. "Only the ugliest of sweaters for the princess." He said with a wink.

"Thanks." She replied, standing up and taking it from him. "The Momster is letting me opt out of full elf garb this year."

"I was looking forward to this year though. I was wondering how she was going to top the literal couch she dressed you in last year."

"I did not look like a couch!" She totally looked like a couch. The fabric was way too heavy for wearing, what had her mother been thinking?

"A couch in a corset top."

"Sans please."

"Nothing will top the sugarplum fairy dress though."

"You still remember that? When was that, freshman year? I'm surprised we could hold the party at all with how much room my skirts took up."

She heard a door slam. "SANS! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TELEPORTING IN THE HOUSE?" It appeared Papyrus was done with his shower.

"I didn't teleport. I took a shortcut."

"NO SHORTCUTS! NOW THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS FULL OF YOUR WEIRD LAZY ENERGY."

"Wait. Can he actually tell?" Frisk asked. She had always assumed Papyrus just didn't want his brother to be lazy.

"Yeah. It leaves a bit of a magical residue." He answered before calling to his brother. "My bad."

"YOUR BAD INDEED."

Frisk just had to shake her head. "Hey, I need to run some errands for my mom today, but I'll see you at the Gyftmas celebration tomorrow?"

"I suppose I can wait that long to see you again." His tone was teasing, but there was definitely something sincere behind it.

Frisk felt a blush rise to her cheeks. "Don't be greedy now, you've spent the last few days with me."

"And I intend to spend the next few with you, if I can get away with it. And then hopefully all the days after that."

"Well. I've heard worse ideas." This was a thing that was happening. But she had to pull herself away from how cute Sans was being so she could run errands for her mother. Even though it felt like she had been waiting her whole life to hear him say something like that.

"I'd like to hear your better ideas." Almost cautiously, like he was afraid he wasn't allowed, he put his arms around waist, and still holding the sweater against her chest, she leaned into him. Now this wasn't helping.

"You could kiss me, for starters." She had barely finished speaking before he fulfilled her request, gently pressing his mouth to hers. Despite having spent the night wrapped in his arms, her heart still hammered over the mere idea of her lips pressed against the smooth bone of his mouth, and the sensation of his magic crackling where they met was more than enough to make her swear off kissing humans forever, as she had certainly been missing out.

He pulled her closer still, and while she wanted to keep kissing him for the better part of the next year, she pressed one more kiss to his lips before she moved to lay her head on his shoulder. "I do really need to go." Errands. For her mother. Who was working very hard to give everyone a good Gyftmas celebration. The least she could do was help out a little but it currently wasn't very easy to see things that way.

Being a good daughter was so difficult sometimes. She hoped her kid wouldn't find it nearly as difficult as she did.

* * *

 **Just like Bonetrousle is San's ringtone for Papyrus, I like to think that Frisk's ringtone for Mettaton is Metal Crusher.**

 **Beyond that, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	14. Some Peace and Quiet And Noodles

**AN: I wasn't expecting this chapter to be as easy to write as it was, but it just kind of happened and I'm really happy with it, so here you go. It's also a long one, cause you're all worth it :)**

 **One quick and shameless plug, in case anyone is interested in some SansxReader 'adventures', my other fic Movie Night has a second chapter now, so go check that out when you're done here :)**

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Chapter Fourteen - Some Peace and Quiet. And Noodles

Sans had just settled into the couch for a quiet afternoon of playing video games after seeing Frisk off - which had been even more difficult than he expected, when there was a very loud knock at the door, followed by it being slamming open.

"PAPYRUS! I NEED YOUR HELP!" Undyne called.

Well. So much for quiet. "I think he's in the laundry room, he might not be able to hear you." Sans called when Undyne kept yelling. "And close the door, there's a draft."

"Some fresh air would do you good!" Undyne replied, but returned to the kitchen to close the door.

Papyrus emerged from whatever part of the house he had previously been inhabiting. "IS UNDYNE HERE? I THOUGHT I HEARD HER."

"Nah, must be your imagination."

"Who are you calling imaginary?" Undyne called from the kitchen.

"Did you hear something, Pap?"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SANS? UNDYNE IS RIGHT THERE."

"You're so cute with your imaginary friends, Pap."

"SANS. YOU'RE NOT MAKING SENSE."

"You're the one talking to people that aren't there."

"I'll show you not there!" Undyne stormed over, and suddenly he was aloft, Undyne having picked him up by his ankle.

"Would you look at that? I learned to levitate."

Undyne groaned in frustration and shook him a little.

"Woah there. I really uh - ouch! - need to get a grip on my levitating skills. It sure would be neat if I learned how to put myself down." He really needed to learn how to quit, but today was not that day.

"Sans! I did not come here to be ignored."

"Then what did you come here for? I mean." Well there went the joke. "Hey Undyne, could you put me down? You're really rattling my bones here."

Luckily, the couch was soft and she wasn't holding him up that high, because Undyne decided dropping him was the best way to respond to his pun.

"UNDYNE! CAREFUL!" Horrified, Papyrus ran over to him. "SANS. ARE YOU OKAY?"

"I'm okay, Papyrus, put me down, I'm alright."

"Heh. Sorry nerd." Undyne said sheepishly.

"I'm stronger than I used to be, it's alright." Once upon a time when his soul was weaker, that fall might have actually hurt, but a few years under the sun had changed that.

"IF YOU'RE SURE YOU'RE OKAY.." There was a concerned spark of orange in the back of Papyrus' eyesockets, and Sans glowed his own blue to comfort him.

"Pinky-bone swear, Pap. I'm okay. The couch is pretty soft, I would know."

Papyrus set him carefully back down on the couch. He had been more protective of Sans than usual since he had cracked his skull a few days ago, and while he was fine now, he knew his brother really didn't want to see that happen again. "I WOULD WORRY ABOUT YOU LESS IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A COUCH POTATO."

"It wouldn't kill you to go for a run with us every once in a while, you know." Undyne winked.

"I don't want to risk it. Anyway. Didn't you say you needed help with something?"

"Right! Uh. Could you two please turn your eyes off first? It's starting to freak me out." It always bothered her for some reason. Of course, so did jack o'lanterns. Glowing things, he guessed.

Papyrus dulled his glow immediately, but Sans only brightened his.

"Ugh. Sans. At least glow the other one, that blue is freaky when the other one is dark."

"Glowing both of them takes too much effort." In all honesty, the other one just didn't glow, but not from lack of trying.

"I'm surprised you get out of bed some days, Sans."

"If I don't, Paps comes in and flips the mattress on me."

"NYEH-HEH-HEH."

Undyne snorted. "Good job Papyrus." She offered him a high five, and Sans wasn't sure how the resulting collision didn't break their wrists.

"SO WHAT DID YOU NEED HELP WITH?"

"Well." She paused. "Sans, don't you dare laugh."

Oh this had to be good. "I'll try my best."

"I mean it."

"Sentries honor."

"BUT YOU AREN'T A SENTRY ANYMORE."

There was also no honor in being a sentry, but he wasn't about to say that to his brother. "I won't laugh, okay?"  
Undyne seemed unconvinced, but decided to tell anyway. "I um. I forgot to get Alphys a Gyftmas present." She said quietly. "So you lucky nerds get to go shopping with me!"

Oh it was so hard not to laugh. "You forgot to get Alphys a gift? You know, your girlfriend of almost ten years, who probably had your gift planned and ordered three months ago?"

"Uh. Yeah."

He was going to laugh so hard when he told Frisk about this later, and that was going to make up for how hard he was trying not to laugh now. "Kay. Good job. You and Papyrus have fun at the overcrowded mall."

"Well that's just the thing. Remember when you and Alphys made Papyrus and me swear we would never go to the mall alone again, __especially__ during holiday season?"  
Dammit. Maybe he could - no. Absolutely not. "Ugh. Fine. But you are buying me a pretzel. Scratch that, do they still have that noodle place attached to the food court?"

"THAT PLACE IS WEIRD, THEY DON'T HAVE TOMATO SAUCE FOR THEIR NOODLES." That's because it was Mongolian, but he couldn't get Papyrus to understand that not all countries originally had spaghetti.

"I'll buy you lunch, Sans. Let's just get going."

* * *

The car ride to the mall was like every other car ride with Undyne and Papyrus, with Sans insisting upon driving and Undyne and Papyrus sitting in the back of his car and belting Disney movie songs. Their movie of choice today, and while their rendition of "Be a Man" was a little out of tune, they certainly made up for it in enthusiasm. But of course, the thing Undyne and Papyrus always had in excess was enthusiasm.

Finding parking took forever, of course, it was the day before Gyftmas eve, and so every other monster (and human) that lived in Newest Home that had forgotten to shop for someone important was there. They managed to find a spot close to side the food court was on, however, and Sans was pleased to see that the noodle place he liked seemed to be open. It was going to be packed, but there wasn't a long line in existence that would discourage him from noodles.

"So I vote we get lunch first and go from there."

"SANS. WE HAD BREAKFAST AN HOUR AGO."

"What about second breakfast?" Curse Alphys for making him watch that movie.

"THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN FOOD."

He stopped in his tracks. "Are you sick, Paps? Here, lemme feel your forehead."

"BROTHER I AM FINE. WE HAVE TO COMPLETE OUR IMPORTANT SHOPPING MISSION. THEN WE CAN GO TO THE WEIRD NOODLE PLACE."

It was probably for the better that they got food last anyway, as that was the only reason he had consented to go on this ridiculous mission. "So, have you thought about what you want to get for her?" Sans asked once they managed to get inside. The place was a bit of a madhouse, like he had expected, so having a game plan of sorts would be optimal.

"Um."

"Oh come on. It's __Alphys__. I got her a Turtwig plushie." Turtwig was her favorite fourth generation starter, and she would physically fight anyone who told her it was a bad choice.

"That's the problem! I thought about getting her some dumb nerd thing like always, but she always gets me the most meaningful things and I can't think of anything that meaningful to give her!"

She had a point. Alphys did give the most thoughtful gifts. "Maybe it's a matter of how you look at things. The 'dumb nerd things' are meaningful to Alphys, aren't they?"

"THAT IS. ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD ADVICE SANS."

"I'm good for something, sometimes. Anyway. Why don't we start at the comic book store? It is right over there, after all."

"You just want to get this over with so you can have noodles."

"You caught me. But it is worth a look, right?"

"I suppose. I just want to give her something really great, you know? Cause she's important to me. And stuff."

"You're so romantic."

"SPEAKING OF ROMANCE." Oh no. "THERE'S A JEWELRY STORE HERE SANS. ARE YOU GOING TO BUY FRISK AN ENGAGEMENT - UM, WHAT KIND OF JEWERLY DO HUMANS GIVE TO PROPOSE?"

Sans felt his cheeks burn. "Rings. And Pap. No."

"PAPYRUS! You're a genius!" Undyne exclaimed. "I can propose to Alphys! She loves that sort of mushy romantic stuff!"

"Uh, I don't know if you're looking at this the right -" But Undyne had sprinted off in the direction of the jewelry store, with Papyrus in her wake. This is why they weren't allowed to shop alone.

"Undyne, let's think about this first." He said, having shortcutted himself to the store first - there was no way he was running in the crowded mall; people might jump out of the way for Undyne and her war cry, but he didn't think the same thing would work for him.

"What is there to think about? I love her and I want have a family with her, I'm totally going to propose."

Right. Monsters only considered marriage if they wanted to have kids. Dating was totally fine when you're able to know for certain that you're soulmates, but somewhere along the way, monsters had looked at human marriage customs and decided that was optimal for starting a family. "Have you even talked about this with Alphys?"

"A little. She didn't seem too interested in the idea of having kids, but it's totally because we aren't married, right?"

"I don't know Undyne, I think you might not want to make this decision so quickly."

"Just because you're too scared to propose to Frisk doesn't mean I should be."

"Undyne, that's completely different. How long have her and I been together? Two days?" Had it only been that long?

"YOU ARE HAVING A KID TOGETHER."

"That's irrelevant, Papyrus." It wasn't though. "And this isn't about Frisk and me. Undyne, are you certain this is what Alphys would want?" He wasn't sure why he was trying to talk Undyne out of this, for all he knew Alphys could be hoping Undyne would propose, but something told him that she really needed to think this through. The day before Gyftmas eve was not the optimal time to be making life decisions.

"Of course it is! She loves mushy romantic gestures like that."

"A proposal is more than a romantic gesture. It's an important commitment, and I don't know if you're thinking this though properly."

"So __you're__ qualified to give romantic advice now?"  
That was it. He was done. "Okay, fine. It's your life. I'm going to go get a slushy. Come get me when you're done." Despite his better judgement, he turned and left Undyne and Papyrus to their own devices. How much trouble could they get into in a ring store - okay, fine. He'd find a bench with a view of the store to keep an eye on them, but he was too angry to hear Undyne's voice at the moment.

As he sipped his frozen orange drink, he tried his best to calm down. Undyne could get on his nerves, but she usually didn't make him that upset.

Should he propose to Frisk? It was traditional - by both human and monster standards - to get married before you have kids, but a week ago Sans had still been too chicken to even ask Frisk on a date, so who was he to even consider marriage? Would they even be together if the whole baby thing hadn't happened?

 _ _Probably not__. He had promised himself that he was going to say something to her, but he probably would have messed it up in some way. Even if she was his soulmate. What his soul thought it was doing thinking he deserved someone like her, he didn't know, but it seemed to be enough for her.

There was also, of course, monster tradition. Monsters always got married before they had children together, it was just the way things were done. A proposal of marriage meant, like Undyne had said, 'I want to have a family with you' - and what had Frisk said the other day, that she kept imagining them as some sort of family, right?

Okay. Maybe he was a little afraid of commitment. And change, that too. That could be the thing about the exchange with Undyne that he had gotten so upset about. Alphys and Undyne getting married and having kids, Frisk and him having kids - a kid, singular, it was an awful lot really fast.

Another thing that had happened too fast was he had drank his entire slushy. His skull felt like it was made of ice and his teeth wouldn't stop chattering. Closing his eyes for just a moment - he didn't want something to happen to Papyrus while he wasn't paying attention - he put his head in his hands.

"Looks like you're really a numbskull now." He heard Undyne cackle. Were they done ring shopping already?

"You're one to talk." He murmured without looking up. "Done already?" He was hoping for a little more time to cool off. He could manage though. He'd have to, sparring in public was frowned upon and he'd probably lose, he couldn't risk using his blasters with so many humans around, after all.

"Yep! We found the perfect ring! She's going to love it!"

"I'm sure. Can we get food now?" He wasn't even going to breach the subject again, especially not after she had spent who knows how much on an engagement ring. Hopefully she and Alphys didn't have a joint bank account.

Wait. Since when did he care?

"ACTUALLY. I REALIZED THAT I FORGOT TO GET A GIFT FOR FRISK."

Was he really the one that had remembered to shop for everyone this year? He deserved a medal. "Alright, but you can't get her an engagement ring."

"I'll LEAVE THAT TO YOU. NYEH-HEH-HEH."

"Right. Um, we could go to that fandom store she likes? The one that sells all the Harry Potter and Supernatural stuff?" He was pretty certain that was where she had gotten him the Hufflepuff scarf she had given him at his and Papyrus' 'birthday' party last year.

"ACTUALLY, I WAS THINKING WE COULD GO TO THE TOY STORE, AND I COULD GET HER SOMETHING FOR THE BABY."

"That a great idea, bro." In fact, Sans was thinking about getting something of that sort as well, because the gift he had gotten her was actually somewhat immature. She'd still love it, of course, but he wanted to get her something else. Or maybe he just liked buying her things, he wasn't sure.

"I AM THE BEST UNCLE EVER, AFTER ALL."

After an hour in the toy store, and half an hour in Baby Gap, Papyrus still hadn't found anything worthy of his amazing niece or nephew. Sans had, however, found a onesie that had a skeleton pattern that Papyrus had passed up. He knew he'd be buying more baby things with Frisk soon (a thought that he only found __slightly__ terrifying), so he didn't want to get too much now without her approval, but he hoped she'd appreciate the gesture.

However, when Undyne held up a onesie that read "I love my Godmother" and gave him her best impression of a pleading look, Sans decided it was time to try another store. "How about you make her a teddy bear?"

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!" Papyrus loved Build-a-Bear, so whenever he was having trouble deciding what to get someone, that's what Sans always suggested. In fact, he was pretty certain that Papyrus had made Alphys a different kind of bear in a lab coat for the last three years. It was a walrus, a dragon, and a cat, if he remembered correctly.

Maybe Alphys __was__ hard to shop for.

The line at Build-a-Bear, however, made Sans wish he had suggested something else, but there was no turning Papyrus back now. That noodle place had better be on top of their game today, because Sans was going to need it after enduring that long of a line with Papyrus and Undyne. Who were bickering, by the way, at the top of their lungs - not like they ever did things quietly - about whether Mulan or Lady and the Tramp was the best Disney movie.

"Mulan is about honor! You just like Lady and the Tramp because there's spaghetti in it!"

"IT'S A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY!"

"You don't even like dogs!"

"I'D LIKE THEM BETTER IF THEY DIDN'T STEAL MY ATTACKS! I- I LIKE LESSER DOG!"

"Lesser Dog isn't in Lady and the Tramp!"

"HE COULD HAVE BEEN! I BET HE'S A GREAT ACTOR!"

"Hey Papyrus, look, they have a Toothless plushie. Do you remember going to see that movie?" He cut in, hoping to distract the two of them.

"A DRAGON PLUSHIE WILL SCARE THE BABY, SANS!"

"No it won't, we'll teach it to be fearless, like me!" Undyne exclaimed. For some reason, Papyrus' yelling never hurt his head, but Undyne's did. Maybe it was a matter of perspective.

After all, the two of them were great - literally in his brother's case, but depending on the situation, spending time with the two of them felt more like babysitting than anything.

Just then, the perfect thing caught his eye. "You could get her a bunny."

"LIKE FLUFFY BUNNY?"

"Yeah, she'll love that." Frisk would love anything Papyrus got her, after all. It was one of the things he loved about her.

"WE HAVE TO GO TO THE BOOKSTORE AFTER THIS. DO YOU THINK THEY'LL HAVE FLUFFY BUNNY BOOKS THERE?"

Sans really hoped so. He didn't want to have to drive all over town looking for a Fluffy Bunny book today, but to make Papyrus happy, that would be what his day was looking like. "We'll have to see."

Papyrus took his time picking out the perfect bunny - there were two to choose from, after all - the brown one looked more like Fluffy Bunny, but the white one was 'fluffier'. "WHAT DO YOU THINK, UNDYNE?"

"The brown one, definitely."

"HMM. I AGREE. THAT WAY IT MATCHES THE BOOK."

Next came stuffing, and the heart ceremony, of course. The stuffed animal needed a good "soul" after all, and Papyrus chose a bright red heart to go in the bunny. Sans had seen Pap do the heart ceremony so many times, that he was surprised when his brother tried to pass the little fabric heart off to him.

"YOU SHOULD MAKE THE WISH FOR IT."

"No way Pap, it's your gift. It means more that way."

"THIS IS TRUE. AS THE BEST UNCLE EVER, I CANNOT RISK LETTING YOU MAKE THE WISH."

"Hey, I can make good wishes." Especially for his own kid.

"I don't know Sans, you might wish that they not look like you." Undyne teased.

He couldn't even get offended at that because it was something he was hoping for. "Well, that goes without saying. Make your wish though Pap, there's other people in line."

"YOU CAN'T RUSH PERFECTION, SANS."

"Sounds like someone has been here before." The kind looking cat-ish monster running the stuffing station said.

"We've only been here a dozen times or so." Sans responded.

"I think I saw you two in here a couple weeks ago. Who is this one for?"

"MY NEPHEW! OR NIECE. WE'RE NOT SURE YET. BUT MY BROTHER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ARE HAVING A BABY AND IT IS TAKING FOREVER TO GET CUTE ENOUGH TO BE BORN."

"It's only been a couple of days, Papyrus."

"NOT IF YOU COUNT ALL THE DAYS BEFORE IT WAS A MONSTER."

"Color me confused?" The cat-monster, her nametag read Violet, but her fur was red, asked.

"It's a bit of a long story." Sans said quickly. "DO you have your wish yet, bro?"

"YES. I HAVE FINALLY DECIDED ON THE PERFECT WISH."

"Alright, do you have you wish in your head?" Red Violet asked, and Papyrus nodded. "Make it the biggest thought in your head because it's super important. Now take your heart, hold it tight, and hold the heart up to head so that the wish you're thinking of goes straight from your brain to the heart!"

As Papyrus did as instructed, Sans noted on the fact that the wish ceremony seemed to get cheesier every year, and the fact that Violet had not changed any of the instructions to match the fact that Papyrus was a skeleton, like the last girl had. Which was actually quite admirable.

With the heart ceremony completed (the girl forgot 'rub it on your shoe so it has __soul__ ' - not that Sans was going to admit he had the thing memorized) it was time for the third most important decision. Stuffing.

"Alright, is this going to be a super firm or super plushy bunny?"

"HMM.."

"You should make it super firm pap, after all, Frisk is used to cuddling with this bonehead." Undyne teased, giving Sans a nudge.

"IT'S NOT FOR FRISK, IT'S FOR THE BABY."

"Isn't Frisk the King and Queen's daughter?"

"OF COURSE SHE IS. WHY?"

"Well, she's human, right?"

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE ASKING OBVIOUS QUESTIONS."  
Sans felt his cheeks burn a little, but he wasn't certain why. "Like I said. Long story. Um. She'd probably like a plushy bunny, bro."

"YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT."

"Plushy it is then? Alright." She took a moment to fill it with stuffing, then offered it to Papyrus. "How's this?"

He gave it a good snuggle before answering. "IT'S ALMOST AS PERFECT AS ME!"

As he watched his brother 'wash' the bunny in the fake sink after it was sewn up, Sans made a mental note to take Papyrus back here to make a stuffed animal for himself at some point, as he realized Papyrus had never kept one of his creations. Of course, that was just the way Papyrus was, but it would be fun to see what he picked out for himself.

The clothing selection, of course, would be that part that really stood between Sans and his noodles. Papyrus, however, surprised him by choosing a simple blue bowtie, and after that the 'birth certificate' and paying for it took no time at all, and they were off to the bookstore.

"THERE'S MORE THAN ONE FLUFFY BUNNY BOOK?" Papyrus exclaimed, having found an entire box set in the children's section. "SANS! YOU SAID THERE WAS ONLY ONE."

"I guess I was wrong, bro."

"WE HAVE TO GET HER ALL OF THEM, OF COURSE!"

Sans would also, of course, be stopping back at a later date to get the entire box set for his brother. It was inevitable that he find out there was an entire series, after all. First things first, however, it was time for noodles.

Well, after he lived through the line to the register. It was only as long as the entire store.

* * *

 **Reader poll! We haven't done that in a while and I love reading your responses. What Hogwarts house would you put Sans in (and what is your house as well)? I called him a Hufflepuff, not only because it's my house, but because friendship and good food are what's important to him. If you've got a different opinion though, let me hear it :)**

 **Also, the Disney song thing may have been inspired by a youtube video I watched, so I gotta give credit where credit is due. So if you want to hear Undyne sing "Be a Man" and Pap sing "Bella Notte" (the spaghetti scene song) look up "Supershadicx250" on YouTube and check out their Disney song challenge video, and all their videos really cause they're kinda great. I'd post a link but I don't think you can do that in a chapter?**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	15. Decorum and Grace

**AN: Howdy! Bet y'all thought I was going to stop updating again, because I haven't in like a week, but actually, my birthday was a thing that happened, which was pretty neat. I actually meant to post a chapter on my birthday, but I didn't get a chance to get it finished. I got cake and wine though, so that's almost as good.**

 **Three things: first of all, thank you all again for the support (and your thoughts on Sans' hogwarts house), I really enjoy reading all of your reviews, I've probably read them all a dozen times.**

 **Secondly, here's a shameless plug for my Gaster fic, "What Do You Two Think?" That you should check out when you're done here. There's only one chapter up right now, but I plan on finishing up chapter two after I get some sleep (it's getting kinda late here).**

 **Thirdly, sweet baby Asriel this chapter is long. I know you guys probably don't mind, but I do, and there's still Gyftmas things to be done but I had to cut this chapter off. I'll make it up to you all in the next chapter :)**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen - Decorum and Grace

It was barely noon, and Frisk was exhausted. She had been helping her parents and the members of the former Royal Guard decorate for the Gyftmas celebration all morning, and while the banquet hall looked great, Frisk was starting to look a little worse for wear.

Not to mention that she was pretty certain she was getting sick, as her throat had certainly seen better days and her stomach was all tied up in knots, but she was determined to help out as much as she could. But, when she passed a comfy looking bench in the hallway while carrying a box of tinsel, it was really difficult to resist dropping everything to take a little nap.

She resisted that time, and was glad she did, or else she would have missed seeing Lesser Dog use his stretching neck trick to put the star at the top of the biggest tree, which never ceased to amuse her.

She also couldn't help but notice, despite her growing exhaustion, that Undyne was a lot more tense than usual, barking orders and baring her teeth in a way that she hadn't seen in a long time. Frisk pulled out her phone to ask Alphy's what was up, as that was usually a safer way to find out what was bothering Undyne, when the warrior princess herself snatched Frisk's phone away.

"No texting your boyfriend on the job!"  
She did not have the energy to deal with this. " _ _Undyne__. What's gotten into you today?"

"Nothing! I just want this to be the best Gyftmas Celebration ever!" There was a crazy gleam in her friend's eye.

"Yep, there is certainly something else going on. Spill."

"You're just trying to get out of decorating."

"For fuck's sake, Undyne." She grabbed Undyne's wrist and dragged her into the hallway. She knew she wouldn't be able to move her at all if Undyne wasn't letting her, so that meant that there had to be something going on. "First of all, my phone." She held out her hand, and Undyne reluctantly put Frisk's phone in it. "Secondly. We are besties. You're going to tell me what's going on, right now."

"I said there's nothing going on."

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Frisk really hoped Undyne would do it the easy way for once. She was really tired and just wanted her friend to get a grip.

"I don't have time for this." Undyne started to pull away from Frisk, but she tightened her grip on her friend's scaly arm.

"If you try to pull away too hard, you'll __definitely__ hurt me. And I'm not letting go until you tell me what's going on." Frisk hadn't had to pull this trick in ages, it was probably the worst one in her arsenal and she'd gotten a sprained wrist out of the deal once, but she had to get Undyne to chill out or she was going to hurt herself or someone.

"I - I -" she growled in annoyance. "Just let me go." Undyne tugged a little, testing Frisk's bluff, but she wasn't about to let go that easily. "Why do you have to be so nosy?"

"You'd do the exact same thing to me. You almost skewed Greater Dog for the way he was hanging up ornaments, come on."

"I can't tell you."

"And why not?"

"Because.. Because it's none of your business!" She tried to tug her arm away a bit harder this time, and Frisk knew if she tried again her fingers would give up, but she had one more shot.

She decided to try a softer tactic. "Undyne, please. I'm worried about you. I had my phone out because I was going to ask Alphys what was bugging you."

Her eyes grew wide. "You can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because it's about her.."

"Did you two get into a fight?"

"Of course not! I just. Don't want her to. To. __Ugh__. You're the worst sometimes, you know that?"

"I may have been told that a time or two. So are you going to tell me?"

She deflated a little. "You'll just try to talk me out of it like Sans did."

That didn't sound good. "Talk you out of what?"

"Of. Um." She looked around, then leaned over and whispered. "I'm proposing to Alphys tonight."

"It took you this long to tell me!"

"I was going to tell you! Eventually. Maybe. I'm just so nervous about the whole thing, I want tonight to be perfect!"

"It will be perfect, Undyne, she loves you. You don't have to skewer anyone over decorations to know that." Frisk said, letting her tired fingers drop to her side. Undyne sure was a lot to handle sometimes, she didn't know how Alphys did it.

"I know.."

"Also, when did you decide this?"

"Uh. Yesterday."

" _ _Undyne__."

"I know. __I know__. But I've been thinking about it for a very long time and I wasn't going to get the guts to do it unless I just went for it, you know?"

"You're out of your mind. But I understand."

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Try not to destroy my hand next time?" Her fingers were throbbing. She really needed better tactics, but Undyne could be so stubborn sometimes.

"Hopefully I only have to propose once."

"That's usually the plan, right?"

After their talk, Undyne seemed to have calmed down, and the decorating was going along a lot smoother by the time they decided to break for food. Frisk's sainted mother had made sandwiches for everyone, which was the perfect light lunch to keep everyone going until the banquet, the smells of which had been drifting from the kitchen all day. Nearly all the restaurant owners in the area pulled together(minus Muffet's bakery, which just made cookies) every year to make food for everyone, and it seemed like they were trying to outdo themselves again.

Frisk, however, who was having trouble stomaching more than a couple tiny bites of her sandwich, wasn't too hopeful about getting to try any of the things they were making.

"My turn to ask, what's bugging you?" Undyne said, seated next to her.

"Just a stomach-ache." She was also starting to lose her voice. She wasn't going to be able to go caroling later at this rate, and that alone was enough to break her heart.

"Your stomach is such a weenie."

"My stomach is currently busy with the miracle of life. It is not a weenie."

"Frisk, dear, I also brought some graham crackers, if your stomach is bothering you." Her mother offered, having noticed her plate.

"That sounds great Momma, thanks." She really thought of everything.

After a few crackers and some clear soda, her stomach was feeling a little better, but she was really getting tired. When she passed the bench the second time, while carrying in some candy canes, she almost gave in. It was padded, after all, it was just begging to be napped on.

The third time, when she was just coming in from grabbing the sweater she was wearing for the actual celebration, it was definitely time for a little nap. They wouldn't miss her that much, after all, there was just a little left to be done, and there was plenty of time, after all. Using the sweater as a pillow, she curled up on the surprisingly comfortable bench, and fell asleep.

* * *

"HUMAN, YOUR DECORATING METHODS ARE RATHER UNORTHODOX."

Frisk murmured a little, not quite ready to open her eyes and figure out where she was. Papyrus was there, so she couldn't be anywhere she didn't want to be.

"Alright Sleepyhead, we've let you slack off long enough." Undyne's voice brought her closer to reality, but she was so comfortable and so tired. But, she felt like waking up was probably a good idea, especially if so many of her friends were insistent that she do so.

She opened her eyes to see all of her friends standing around her, wearing sweaters of varying ridiculousness. "Good morning?" She said groggily as she sat up.

"God Sans, she's worse than you are." Undyne teased, and Frisk couldn't help but smile.

"I feel like we have somewhere important to be?" She said, rubbing her eyes. She seemed to have developed a headache in her sleep, which she hadn't previously though possible.

"Only the Gyftmas Celebration, you know, the biggest event of the year. No big." Sans teased.

"Oh. Right." She yawned again, stretching out her arms above her head.

"I thought you were wearing a sweater with us." Alphys said. "We were going to take pictures before the event started."

"So someone." Undyne gave Sans a pointed look. "Can't stain theirs before we get good pictures."

Sans shrugged. "I'm a sucker for good ham."

Frisk sighed and shook her head. "It's right here." She said, grabbing the now slightly wrinkly sweater and pulling it on over her tank top.

"Looks great." Undyne snorted. That was suspicious. She looked down to see.

"God dammit Sans." She said, burying her face in her hands. The reindeer orgy sweater. She should have known. "My mother is going to kill me." She thought the sweater wasn't going to see the light of day again after the event two years prior, yet there it was, three reindeer fucking on her chest, pom-poms, and all.

"There are too many witnesses tonight for her to kill you." Sans chuckled. "Let's go take pictures before she catches you."

"Good lord Sans, do you like playing with fire?" Undyne asked as they walked into the fully decorated banquet hall - even after spending all day working on it, it was still a sight to behold in it's full festive glory. This year her mother had been very inspired by the Harry Potter movie marathon Frisk had been insistent upon over fall break, and the resemblance to the Great Hall during Christmas in the first movie was uncanny.

"Haven't gotten burnt yet, have I?" Sans replied confidently.

Alphys and Frisk both sighed, knowing the storm that was coming, but Frisk didn't exactly feel compelled to take the sweater off. She had always wanted to be the one to wear it, after all. Even Papyrus had a turn one year, albeit it was a little small for him. How Sans had explained the joke to his more innocent brother, Frisk wasn't entirely sure.

"Pictures by the biggest tree, then?" Alphys directed.

They asked Frisk's father to take pictures for them, Alphys having to explain to him again how to use her camera, despite the fact that they had him take their picture every year. He chuckled when he saw what Frisk was wearing.

"Don't let your mom catch you in that." She had it in for that sweater since Sans had first waltzed in wearing it a few years back, Undyne had found it while Gyftmas shopping, and Sans being one never to turn down a good dare.

"I brought another one for her." Sans assured him, and Frisk was grateful.

"I'll change after pictures, promise. She'll never know."

Frisk should have known better, however, because about approximately five seconds after her father had given Alphys back her camera, her mother noticed her. She was greeting Frisk's aunt Dulily - when both of their expressions soured upon noticing her. Now she had done it.

"Uh, Sans." She said with no small amount of fear in her voice.

He pulled a (hopefully) less offensive sweater from the messenger bag at his hip and handed it to her. "Good luck."

"And they say chivalry is dead." She replied, taking it from him and quickly meandering her way over to the restrooms to change. True to his word, this sweater was far less offensive, sporting only a single reindeer and an evergreen tree.

She left the bathroom to find that a lot more guests had filtered in - they had a more humans this year than last, as there had been an influx of humans moving to the city following the building of some new housing complexes, as well as Newest Home being named one of the safest places to live in the country. That of course, also meant that there were so many children around.

In fact, Frisk had never seen so many children in her life. Monster children were usually few and far between, in fact, there had been only twelve in the entire kingdom for last year's celebration, but there were easily twenty human children running around, not to mention the infants, and it was still a half hour before the event was to officially start.

It was also so very aggressively loud, and Frisk decided to track down Alphys to see if she had any painkillers on her - as she suffered from chronic headaches - before she did anything else.

She found Alphys talking with Undyne's father, who looked just like his darling, overzealous daughter, give or take a little gray in the scales.

The though occurred to her that if Undyne's father was still alive, that meant Undyne was not at her full magical potential, and the thought was terrifying, and also a little unsettling. Boss monster dynamics were strange, and the idea of a child literally drawing the life force from their parents was too much to consider at the moment.

Thankfully, however, Alphys had come prepared with a full first aid kit in her purse, and hooked Frisk up with both meds for her headache, as well as some sweet Band-Aids with turtles on them, just because.

After greeting a few monsters that she barely knew besides the fact they had known her since her first days stumbling through Snowdin (or Hotland, in Heats case), she found Papyrus playing tag with a group of children, and not far from him was Sans talking with a monster that looked a lot like a bunny, with a little girl that looked a lot like her daughter on his shoulders, patting her hands on the top of his skull. Just watching her made Frisk's head pound.

"Hey Frisk, have you met Lulu?" He asked, gesturing to the lady he was talking to.

"I don't think we've met yet, or if we have forgive my terrible memory." Frisk replied. "I'm Frisk, uh, Dreemur." She always felt strange introducing herself with her last name. It probably had something to do with being adopted.

"I know who you are, Princess, of course, but I don't think we've met yet. I'm Lulu Fluffenstuff. And the little one trying to bash Sans' skull in is my daughter, Brea."

"If that's what she's trying to do, she better try a little harder." Sans teased, looking up at the little girl who looked a bit like both a bunny and a dog, who took that as her cue to squeal and pat him again with her soft little paws.

"I didn't see her in line to see Santa last year, how old is she?"

"She'll be one in February, so this is her first Gyftmas."

"Are you excited to meet Santa, Brea?" Sans asked her.

"No!" Brea shook her head.

"You haven't been a bad girl, have you?" Frisk teased.

"No!"

"Is 'no' the only word you know?" Brea's mother asked.

"Noooooo!" She wailed.

"She's precious." Frisk said, unable to contain her smile. Fluffy monster babies were arguably her favorite, even when they were screaming and her head hurt.

"Thanks, she's a bit of a handful." Lulu smiled. "Do you want to go find Daddy, Bree?"

"No." Brea said, less convincingly, as Sans handed her off to her mother.

"It was nice seeing you." Lulu said. "I could sure use a babysitter, by the way, if that's something you still do."

"You used to babysit?" Frisk asked.

"Just for Lulu and MK, when they were a lot younger, back in the underground."

"Sorry about that lamp still, by the way." Lulu said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. And I wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Miss Brea every once in a while, I probably need the practice."

"Practice?"

Frisk felt herself flush. "We might be expecting one of our own soon." She managed to say, instinctively cradling her stomach in both hands. She was really not prepared to tell people, but it was something she needed to get used to.

Lulu's face lit up in a smile. "Well congratulations you two, I didn't even know you got married."

Monster traditions were going to be the death of her. "Uh, we may have skipped that step, but thank you. We're really excited."

"Well I'm sure. I'm surprised there wasn't a big announcement, you being the King and Queen's daughter, after all." Lulu said, over the fussing of her daughter.

"We're trying not to make a big deal out of it." Frisk explained.

"I understand. Anyway, I'm going to take crankypants here to her father, and see is he can sort her out. I'll message you on UnderNet if I need a sitter?"

"Sounds great. Are you up for babysitting with me, Frisk?"

"Of course." It couldn't be that difficult, after all.

* * *

After mingling for a little while longer with Sans - baby bones only came up in a couple of those conversations, but it did not get any easier to talk about - it was time for the banquet to start. Frisk started heading over to the table where her family was seated - her father looking over his speech notes and her mother giving her aunt and overly polite smile (Frisk hoped her mother had forgotten all about the sweater she had been wearing prior) - when Undyne and Papyrus got her attention, waving her over to where they were all seated.

"What do you need, guys? Mom's gonna kill me if I'm not seated by the time Dad needs to make his speech."

"YOUR SEAT IS HERE WITH US THOUGH." Papyrus replied, and she gave him a funny look - her mother always seated Frisk right beside her - until she saw a card with her name on it by Sans' place - Sans was nowhere to be found, of course, but he always managed to seated on time.

She took her seat between Sans and Alphys, and while she had begged her mother for years to seat her with her friends, rather than with her family - her aunt always spent the entire evening nitpicking Frisk's table manners - she hadn't expected her mother to actually ever give in.

It almost felt like a fall from grace.

Frisk spent most of her father's speech trying to convince herself otherwise - barely noticing when Sans sat down beside her right before six thirty (sharp). Her mother was probably just trying to be nice, or was trying to sit her and Sans together for appearances, or something. This was not because of something she had done wrong. Hopefully.

Of course, she was probably just being overly emotional, any other year she would have been overjoyed at being seated with her friends, but instead she was pouting about it and not even paying attention to the very nice speech her father had probably spent all month writing,

She'd look it up on YouTube later, she resolved, noticing that several monsters (and a couple humans) were endeavoring to videotape the event.

"You okay, Frisk?" Sans whispered, putting one hand on her knee. His touch helped to ground her, and she was more aware of the fact that the time for speeches were over, and people were getting up to go through the buffet line. Her friends had also been talking about something, but she wasn't quite sure.

"I'm okay." She replied, and while he seemed to accept her answer, his hand didn't move from her knee. She laced her fingers with his while she tried to tune into what her friends were talking about.

"We do not need another cat, Undyne, Kyube is more than enough trouble."

"He's only trouble because he's lonely. It's a big lonely house for a small cat."

"Small? Small. Honey. He's a Maine Coon. A small child could ride him."

Maybe she didn't need to be paying attention. Those two had that argument a lot. It always surprised Frisk that Undyne was the one that wanted more pets.

Unless of course, Undyne didn't exactly want a pet. Monsters got married because they wanted to be a family, so maybe Undyne was just testing the waters.

It was probably a good idea to do that more in advance than a few hours before she meant to propose, but it was Undyne. Frisk was admiring that she had the foresight at all.

"Maybe you should get a cat, Sans." Frisk teased.

"A CAT? HE CAN'T EVEN TAKE CARE OF A ROCK."

"Rocks are certainly more my speed." Sans replied, and Papyrus sighed theatrically.

"Hopefully he's better at childcare than rockcare, right Frisk?" Undyne teased.

She felt Sans fingers tense beneath hers, gripping her knee, before letting go again. She entwined her fingers with his and smiled. "I think he's better than you're giving him credit for."

"I'd like to think so." He said in a way that made Frisk worry that he wasn't too certain of it himself. Which was upsetting, because she was more sure of him than she was of herself.

"Thanks." Sans replied, with that cute little smile of his.

"You too are so cute, it's gross." Undyne teased, and Frisk narrowed her eyes at her. She was going to have to watch her propose to Alphys later on, and that was bound to be sickly sweet.

Frisk felt her tummy grumble a little - was she actually hungry, it was a miracle - and she glances over at the buffet line, which was getting a bit shorter after all the groups with children that had gone through, but her friends always went through closest to last because of some boss monster sense of honor, so she knew it was going to be a while.

"We can go up now, if you'd like, Frisk." Alphys said, as though reading her mind. Or maybe her stomach had grumbled louder than she thought, she wasn't sure.

"I don't mind waiting, I know you guys like to wait until everyone else has gone up." Her traitor stomach grumbled a little more.

"We know you don't mind, but I think your stomach does." Undyne teased. "Plus you didn't eat much for lunch."

This earned her a worried look from Sans. Thanks, Undyne. "I'm okay, really.."

"Frisk! Dearest, have you been hiding from me over here? Come give your only aunt a hug!" Her aunt's shrill voice rang in Frisk's ears. She tried her best not to grit her teeth as she stood up to greet her.

"Aunt Dulily! How have you been?" She allowed herself to be crushed in the great brown furred monster's embrace.

"Just fine dear, your mother told me you were pregnant! And I didn't even get an invitation to your wedding!"

"Well, that's because there wasn't one.."

"Don't settle for any less than you deserve dear, just because you didn't think anyone would ever want to date you-"

"Would you like to meet my boyfriend?"

"Well of course, I've only been waiting all night."

"You're up, bonehead." Frisk heard Undyne whisper as Sans stood up.

"Aunt Dulily, meet my boyfriend, Sans."

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no." Her aunt tutted melodically. "That is not how you introduce a Duchess, my dear."

Frisk gritted her teeth and bit back pure venom. "I thought you said you were not one for unnecessary formalities." She reminded her aunt.

"I hardly see how proper introduction techniques are unnecessary."

"Well, if you had bothered meeting any of my friends before now, we wouldn't have to be going over this, would we? They're only the last surviving boss monsters in the kingdom."

"Well. I never-" She huffed. Frisk had her there.

"Would you like to meet my friends, are you going to continue to insist upon undue decorum?"

"I can see why you were removed you from the royal table this year. You can come apologize to me when you are ready to act like the princess your mother insists you are." And with that, she stormed off.

Frisk just stood there for a few moments, trying her best to compose herself after another stellar family reunion with her favorite aunt. "Fucking.. ugh." She sighed. "So that's my aunt." She said quietly, as Sans stood beside her, trying his best to decide how to react.

"SANS, I DON'T SEE HOW FRISK IS THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO APOLOGIZE."

"She isn't, Pap." Sans said quietly. "You okay prii - uh - Frisk?" He asked her, putting one hand gingerly on her shoulder.

"Now is that any way to address a princess?" She said, allowing herself a small smile.

He chuckled. "You're really something else, you know that?"

"That's a little better." She replied, before turning around to face her friends.

"You know, that ham smells really good." Alphys offered, and that was the best thing anyone could have said.

* * *

After dinner, Frisk was feeling a lot better, having managed to eat far more than she had expected to at lunch - her stomach was on her side occasionally, it seemed. However, her aunt's crusade to ruin her night was not done, apparently, because when her parents returned to the banquet hall in their full Santa garb, her aunt announced that she was their 'elf in chief' that year, as the usual one couldn't be bothered - Frisk's mother balked at that, but did not stop her from rounding up the gathered children to take their turns meeting Santa.

Frisk tried her best to shoot her mother her best telepathic look, but it was ineffective due to her lack of telepathic abilities, as well as the fact that her mother was already busy keeping the overexcited children in order.

"Frisk, are you alright?" Sans asked her for the second time that night.

"I'm fine. I - please don't touch me." She pushed not only Sans away, but Alphy's affections as well. She didn't want to cry over this and knew she would the second they got any closer.

She was not going to cry over this. It was her own fault, after all, she had insisted that she wanted to spend this year's celebration with her friends in sweaters, and this is what she got. Removed from the Royal table and from her favorite part of the event. She deserved this.

"I'm gonna take Paps up to get in line, will you be okay?" Sans whispered. Frisk had barely registered Pap's excited shrieking about how excited he was to see Santa.

Frisk merely nodded in response, and Sans allowed himself to be half-dragged up to the front by his brother, leaving Frisk with Alphys and Undyne.

"I could probably get her with a spear from here, as soon as that chubby kid gets out of the way." Undyne offered, earning her a elbowing from Alphys.

"It's okay, but thanks. She's just bitter that there's going to be another baby royal and even less attention will be paid to her useless, narcissistic - ugh." Her aunt had made no small show of how much she opposed Frisk being adopted into the royal family, the last thing they needed was another child, let alone a human, she had said. But her parents had paid her no mind, as they always did. Duchess indeed.

"I just don't know where she thinks she has the right to treat you like that." Undyne said, a glimmer of magic shimmering in her throwing hand. When Undyne had a good target, she didn't back down, even if she probably shouldn't even think of aiming at it.

"Well, a lot of second children in boss families have that problem - not that that excuses anything, of course - but it is rather upsetting, not even having the same powers.."

Alphys was right, of course - most monster families rarely had more than one child - especially boss monsters, as the passing of power only applied to the firstborn - but Frisk didn't currently have it in her heart to feel sorry for her aunt. Or anyone.

She glanced over at the buffet line, the remains of dinner had disappeared and desserts were left in its place, and the few odd monsters that weren't paying attention to Mr. and Mrs. Claus were already picking it over.

"I'm going to get some cookies and milk." She announced, getting up and turning her back to the spectacle her aunt was making of herself, she went after some well-deserved dessert.

She returned, plate of cookies in hand, to a very angry Sans and a heartbroken Papyrus.

"THE NEW ELF SAID I WAS TOO OLD TO SEE SANTA." He wailed, and Frisk felt a fire ignite in her soul.

"What did Mrs. Claus say?" She asked, looking at Sans, who was focused on his brother, with a bright blue glow in his eye. She always found their glowing comforting, even if they only glowed when they were upset (or needed to see in the dark).

"Couldn't even get to her, the old bi- erm, the new elf was patrolling the front of the line."

This would not do. "Hey Pap, did you know that I have connections in the North Pole?" Frisk asked, putting one hand on his knee.

"YOU DO?" He looked up at her, his bright orange eyes a beacon that matched the flame inside her.

"It's one of the perks of being a Princess. Come on, I'll go back up with you." She offered him her hand and he took it, and they marched back up to meet Santa.

Her aunt, of course, gave her a bitch face that could have melted all of Snowdin when she saw her walking back up, her hand clutching Papyrus' - but Frisk really could have cared less.

"I thought I said -" Her aunt started, already on her high horse.

"I believe you've forgot the rules of the North Pole." Frisk interrupted her. "Now, I know you're an elf in training, but I happen to know the Miss and Mister always believe that you're never too old for Santa." Frisk interrupted her, her impromptu speech more for Pap's benefit than her aunts - the old bitch was never going to listen anyway, but Frisk had to buy enough time for her mother to notice her and come to her rescue. If there was one thing Frisk was good at, after all, it was talking her way out of confrontations. "It is, after all, all about spreading the Gyftmas cheer, right?"

"Well, I -"

"Frisk, Papyrus, are you here to see Santa?" Her mother's voice called over the head of a couple of chattering children as she made her way over to them. Her mother seemed to have a radar for when she was needed, and Frisk was eternally grateful.

"Of course we are! We wouldn't miss our chance for the world, right Pap?"

Papyrus, of course, needed a moment to get over being starstruck. "MRS. CLAUS!" He exclaimed as soon as his excitement would allow. "FRISK SAID SHE HAD CONNECTIONS IN THE NORTH POLE, IS THAT TRUE?"

"Well, small connections, but Santa does his best to keep a very close eye on her." Frisk's mother winked.

"OF COURSE, SHE IS THE PRINCESS, AFTER ALL, AND SO SHE MUST BE THE BEST CHILD OF ALL."

Her aunt scoffed at that.

"I SEE YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, BUT SANTA KNOWS! FRISK IS THE NICEST HUMAN I KNOW, AND SHE MAKES MY BROTHER VERY HAPPY. I WORRY ABOUT HIM VERY MUCH, AND SHE MAKES HIM BETTER, SO SHE HAS TO BE ON THE NICE LIST."

Frisk considered crying, and while it wasn't for the first time that night, it was the first time it was for something good. She didn't deserve friends like she had. Of course, no one really deserved Papyrus, but he didn't seem to mind sharing his love anyway.

"Frisk has a permanent place on the nice list." Mrs. Claus assured the excited skeleton.

"GOOD! SEE FRISK, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY."

"Thanks, Papyrus." She gave his hand a squeeze.

The line in front of them had gone down at that point, in fact, they seemed to be next, a small line having formed behind them, mostly of parents with infants that they had previously been feeding. "Are you ready, Papyrus?" Her mother asked him.

"I WAS BORN READY." Papyrus exclaimed, and Frisk didn't doubt it in the least. He bounded up and flounced onto Santa's lap - to his credit, old Saint Nick didn't even wince in pain. It was a solid ten minutes before Papyrus finished speaking, and could be coaxed to let the next person in line go - and it sure was difficult spending that entire time ignoring her aunt. She started cooing at the babies after a few, but Frisk still felt uncomfortable with her near.

Of course, Frisk hadn't really intended on seeing Santa herself, but she couldn't resist messing with her old dad a little."Santa, are you sure you can deliver all three of my ponies in your sleigh?" She asked, setting herself down a lot gentler onto his knee than Papyrus had.

"Ponies, dear? I thought you wanted a new phone."

"Well, I did, but then I decided that I really needed to become an equestrian, and I need at least three ponies to do that."

He chuckled. Her dad really had the perfect Santa laugh, deep and hearty, she felt the warmth of in soothe the angry fire that had previously been burning in her soul. "Well, do you think you've been good enough this year for that?"

"Hmm. Well, to be honest, I've had a few rough patches this year, but I'm working on it. And I think next year will be better. It's looking that way, at least." She looked over at Papyrus, who was excitedly chattering with Sans, Alphys, and Undyne not to far from them. "At the very least, I have a lot of great people to keep me in line. Aaand, Mrs. Claus said I have a permanent spot on the nice list."

"Hmm. Well in that case, I'll have my elves attach the livestock trailer to the sleigh."

"Aww Santa, you're the best!" She giggled, and threw her hands around his neck, and her father - well, Santa - wrapped her into a much-needed hug.

* * *

 **It looks like Undyne's proposal will have to wait. Can you handle the anticipation? Hopefully it goes well..**

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	16. In Which Sans Flirts With Alphys

**AN: just a friendly reminder that you're awesome :)**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen - In Which Sans Flirts With Alphys

Having finished his slice of pie, Sans was absentmindedly watching the teachers from New Hope Elementary get the kids in order for the concert, which was arguably his favorite part of the Gyftmas Celebration, after the food, of course.

Frisk, having given up on her plate of cookies due to her stomachache - she really seemed to be getting sick and that was beyond concerning to him - was leaned against him, half asleep, while Papyrus and Alphys were talking about which Gyftmas carol was their favorite. He noticed that Undyne was being strangely quiet, checking her pocket every couple of moments, probably to make sure the ring was still there.

He decided to ignore it, in favor of moving into a more comfortable position and wrapping one arm around Frisk's waist, his fingers meeting her warm skin as her sweater was riding up on that side. Undyne and Alphys were so distracted they didn't even 'aw' at them, which he appreciated.

"How's baby bones doing?" She murmured.

"Do you want me to check right now?"

"I figured that was what you were doing."

"I just wanted to hold you."

" _ _Oh__."

"What are you two loooove-nerds doing?" Undyne sang, turning her attentions onto them. "Getting handsy in public I see." She teased, as though she and Alphys weren't the same way.

Frisk's face blazed red. "He's just checking on the baby.."

"It's already big enough to share emotions with? Sweet! Let me try!" She leapt over the table in her haste to get closer to Frisk, who had grown tense beside him.

"Maybe you should ask permission, honey.." Alphys said, and Undyne stopped.

"Right. Sorry Frisk."

"WHAT ARE WE ASKING PERMISSION TO DO?"

"Sharing emotions with the baby." He explained. "Maybe this isn't the place.."

"I don't mind." Frisk said, sitting up. "I'm assuming you know how, Undyne?"

"Yeah, I'm a master at sharing my feelings."

Sans couldn't help but notice Alphys' small snort at that. "Remember though, positive things." Sans warned protectively.

"Don't worry, Bonehead, I won't scare your kid." She replied like that was supposed to reassure him, but it seemed to be enough for Frisk because she took Undyne's hand and put it beneath her sweater. They were all quiet for a moment, as though speaking would scare the feeling away.

"That was freaking sweet!" Undyne exclaimed, before pulling her hand away. "Alphys, you have to try this."

"I don't want to overwhelm them.." Alphys said timidly.

"It's okay, Alphys." Frisk replied gently.

She shook her head in response. "I'd really rather not.. but thanks for offering."

"What's wrong, Alphs?" Undyne asked her girlfriend.

"Nothing."

Undyne's excitement over the baby could not be contained, however. "Come on, the baby will like you more later if you do."

"Maybe another time then.."

"CAN I TRY?"

"Sure Paps, come over here." Frisk replied, smiling.

"I'M NOT SURE WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING." Papyrus said after a moment of holding his hand to Frisk's stomach.

Sans should have known better. "Send them a feeling with your soul - a positive one, and they might respond to you."

"IS BEING THE BEST UNCLE EVER A FEELING?"

Frisk giggled. "Try excitement or happiness."

Sans wasn't sure how well Papyrus could convey his excitement in a single sharing of his emotions, but he didn't say that. "Watch out Pap, they might try to tell you a joke."

"HOPEFULLY THEY ARE ACTUALLY -" He gasped, his entire skull brightening with his excited smile.

"Are they as excited to have you as an uncle as you are to be their uncle?" Frisk asked. She was so perfect sometimes - well, all the time, really.

"THAT GOES WITHOUT ASKING, IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE, AFTER ALL!"

"Aren't they so cool, Papyrus?" Undyne asked, grinning beside Alphys, who's expression was distant.

"OF COURSE THEY ARE, THEY'RE MY NEPHEW, AFTER ALL."

"Or niece." Frisk corrected softly. Her smile had damped a little, looking down at her hand over her stomach. Sans wished he could help her feel souls the way the rest of them could, he couldn't imagine how it would feel to not be able to bond with her own child in that way.

"Or neither." Alphys said. "My twin's soul never settled on a gender."

"I thought you were an only child, Alphys." Frisk asked.

"I am now, I guess." She replied, looking away from them and instead to the stage, where the kids seemed to be almost in some sort of ordered rows.

"Oh. I'm sorry.." Frisk said softly.

"You didn't know, it's alright." Alphys replied, Undyne putting one arm around her shoulder and pulling her close, and that seemed to end the subject.

The noisy banquet hall began to quiet down as more and more people noticed that the it was almost time for the kids to sing, and Sans couldn't help but notice that Frisk's expression almost seemed wistful.

"What, are you imagining baby bones up there one day?" He asked. He had heard enough of Frisk's shower serenades to know they would probably have a gorgeous voice. Hopefully, they'd be better than her about letting others hear it.

"Nah, some kid put a whoopee cushion on the pianist's chair and I'm waiting for them to sit down."

"What, and I didn't notice?"

"You were too busy stuffing your face with pie. Now hush, you'll make me miss it."

Soon enough, the pianist sat down and the tell-tale sound of a whoopee cushion rang echoed through the hushed room, followed by the entire group of children bursting into laughter, along Frisk and Sans.

"YOU TWO ARE SO IMMATURE!" Papyrus wailed, but they were too busy giggling to reply.

* * *

Frisk fell asleep sometime during the children's concert, having decided that Sans' shoulder was an excellent pillow, not that he minded in the least.

"Is she drooling? That's adorable." Undyne teased, turning around to face them once the last song was over.

Sans' shoulderblade was soaked, to be honest. Humans seemed to be constantly leaking, but he could handle a little spit as opposed to blood or any other fluid she had in her arsenal. "The ladies tend to do that when I'm around, never thought she'd be the type to literally drool over me though."

Undyne snorted. "Right. You're such a lady killer."

"I wouldn't go that far - she's still breathing, isn't she?"

"I don't know if you can take any credit for that." Alphys teased.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied. "Toss me my jacket, will you Paps?"

"WE'RE NOT LEAVING YET, ARE WE?" Papyrus whined, tossing it to him. Several people were headed out, the festivities mostly over, but there were announcements of good news to be made yet, and leaving close to last meant they would avoid the worst of the traffic.

"Not yet, that's not what I want it for." He replied, grabbing his airborne coat with his free hand and setting it into his lap, before carefully moving Frisk so she could drool on that, rather than him.

"Aw, you didn't even let me get a picture." Alphys complained. "I was going to put it in the scrapbook."

"YOU HAVE A SCRAPBOOK OF FRISK DROOLING ON PEOPLE?"

Sans would believe it. "Not so loud, bro." He said softly, brushing a strand of hair from Frisk's cheek. She was so cute when she was sleeping, even if she did drool a little sometimes.

"It's a scrapbook of embarrassing photos of you guys." Alphys replied, "But most of the ones of Frisk are of her drooling on people."

Sans snickered. "Drooling on me, you mean?" There had to be at least a dozen.

"I also have the one from our trip to an amusement park, when she threw up on Undyne and Papyrus." Alphys had taken the shot at just the right moment, they had just gotten off a rollercoaster, and Frisk had chugged her blue slushy right before getting on. He had called her 'The Blue Volcano' for the rest of the day.

"DON'T REMIND ME!" Papyrus wailed, and Undyne made a face at the memory as well.

Frisk stirred a little, it was starting to get loud again since the concert was over, but she just flopped one arm over her head and that seemed to be the end of that.

Sans noticed the King walking over as his friends continued to discuss the embarrassing photos Alphys had acquired over the years.

"Hello, Your Majesty." They all chorused once he made it over to them.

"Howdy. Is Frisk around, her mother is looking for her."

"She slipped out with some shady looking Froggits for a smoke, she said." Sans replied.

The king looked down at him, furrowing his brow, before noticing that his daughter was asleep across Sans' lap. "The children's concert put her to sleep again, I see."

"Do you need us to wake her up?" Undyne asked. "I can go grab my air horn from the car."

The king chuckled. "I don't think that will be necessary."

Sometime the king had left them, after somehow getting into a conversation with them about the time his rosebush grew over the greenhouse door, he and the queen stepped up to the microphone on stage to announce that if anyone had good news they would like to share with the community, now was the time.

Sans couldn't help but notice that Undyne turned a little greener than usual, and the hand that wasn't around Alphys was patting her pocket. This was going to be good. He considered waking Frisk, but decided to wait until Undyne actually decided to get up and go through with it.

Papyrus, of course, bolted from his seat - this was his favorite part of the event, after all - and managed to get second in line.

"Not bad, he was fifth last year." Alphys noted.

"I always thought he was second to none, personally."

"You know what his good news is going to be, right?" Alphys teased. Undyne was still in her own nervous little world.

" _ _Shit__." He said aloud, realizing what Alphys meant. But there was no stopping Papyrus, in fact the first news of the night was over - Sans hadn't even been paying attention - and Papyrus was stepping up to the mic.

Sans was quite warm and blue around the face already, and decided that his best plan of action was to sink as low in his seat as possible as Papyrus announced loudly that he was going to be an uncle - who thought he needed a microphone, seriously - however, sinking in his seat was difficult with Frisk laying on him, and she stirred with the movement - in fact she started to roll forward and he slammed his head on the table with his haste to stop her as she fell to the floor with a thump.

He audibly swore as Papyrus was saying something about believing he was less irresponsible than he pretended to be - seeing stars or lights or something in front of his aching skull, he couldn't help but feel that all eyes were on him as he dropped out of his chair to check on the very bewildered - and probably injured (again!) Frisk.

He also smacked his skull on the table once more for good measure on the way down. " _ _Shit. Fucking__ \- I mean _ _\- dammit__. You okay?" He asked, holding his head in one shaking hand as he kneeled beside her.

"Yeah, I'm - ouch!" She thumped her head on the underside of the table trying to get up. Still mostly blinded, he reached out and put his hand where he thought her head should be and found her shoulder.

"How about we just stay right here for a few." He suggested, clenching his eye-sockets tight against the throbbing pain in his skull.

"We're a fine pair, aren't we?"

"Yeah, just brilliant. Sorry I dropped you - you aren't hurt, are you?"

"Shoulder is a little sore, I'm fine. Wide awake. How's your head?"

"Still attached, I think. Let me know if you feel like remedying that, though, it might help."

"Is it detachable?"

"Not unless you want to get really dusty."

" _ _Sans__!" Her voice was shrill and made him ache.

"Kidding, promise, ugh." He leaned forward, trying to find Frisk's shoulder to rest his head against, but missing the mark a little. She was so soft, almost squishy, really..

 _ _Wait.__

"Hey Sans.. uh.."

He heard a wolf whistle - Undyne probably - and a loud voice that confirmed his suspicions. "Well lookie there. I was getting worried about you two but you seem to be getting along __just__ fine." She cackled.

As it became more obvious to him that he had face-planted into Frisk's chest, his options weren't exactly clear.

Moving and probably opening his eyes was probably the first matter of business - which he did to find both Alphys and Undyne peeking under the tablecloth and giggling - second matter of business, which one did he murder first?

"You two can stop looking so smug anytime, you've done worse things under tables." Frisk replied, and Sans would have laughed if he didn't think it would hurt too much.

As they were crawling out from beneath the table and taking their seats, Papyrus was making their way over to them, looking visibly upset.

"SANS! I MADE SUCH A GREAT SPEECH ABOUT HOW HAPPY I AM FOR YOU AND YOU HID UNDER THE TABLE THE WHOLE TIME!"

He loved his brother, but he was very, very loud. And pitchy. Everything hurt. "I'm sorry bro.. I fell.."

"YOU DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP DURING MY SPEECH, DID YOU?"

"No, he actually fell. For Frisk, that is." Undyne cackled, sealing her fate as the first to die. He really considered murdering his friends an awful lot, all things considered.

"He hit his head, Papyrus, be gentle." Frisk said soothingly, his precious angel.

Papyrus' demeanor changed almost instantly. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? LET ME LOOK AT IT." Papyrus insisted, and Sans really had no choice but to let him. "YOU SEEM TO BE OKAY." His brother said as softly as he was able, running the bones of his fingers over Sans' forehead to check for miniscule cracks. "DO BE CAREFUL NEXT TIME."

"Geez Sans, maybe you need a helmet." Undyne teased, and Sans gestured rudely in her general direction.

"Now Sans, is that any way to greet the Queen?"

He hadn't even noticed her walking up, now he was really in for it.

"My apologies, I.." He gently put his head to the table and groaned. Today was not his day at all.

"I'm kidding." Her voice was mirthful. "I saw you smack your face and wanted to be sure you were alright." At least he hadn't seen him with his face in her daughter's chest - this conversation would be going a lot differently.

"We think he'll live, thanks Mom." Frisk replied. Sans could only groan his agreement.

"Do you want anything for pain? I have some uh, weenie tablets in my purse."

"A sledgehammer would do the trick, too." He murmured, not wanting to look up. This time it was Papyrus that shrieked at him.

"Bro, I'm kidding, chill."

"I didn't hear him, what did he say?" The queen asked.

"He said that would be lovely, thanks." Frisk replied, the great translator that she was.

* * *

After the painkillers had kicked in - Sans wasn't sure what the queen had given him exactly but they sure worked - they had packed up to leave, he and Papyrus having promised the queen they would take Frisk home, as she was drowsy and her parents were not ready to leave.

It had been snowing when the event started and so everything was covered in fresh white powder, with soft little flakes still fluttering down and dancing in the light. He put his arm around Frisk's shoulder, and she turned her attentions away from sipping her hot chocolate to nuzzle her head against his.

"WE SHOULD MAKE SNOWANGELS!" Papyrus exclaimed, having gotten ahold of a cup of cappuccino instead of cocoa while Sans wasn't looking, he was full of boundless energy.

"We could, Paps, but mine always end up with horns for some reason."

"SANS! YOU'RE SUCH A SPOILSPORT!" Papyrus exclaimed, already bounding across the parking lot to the open patch of snow on the other side.

"What do you think, Alphys-" Frisk paused, having turned herself around to see why the rest of their friends were so far behind them, and Sans did the same.

Undyne, whom Sans had just assumed had just chickened out earlier, had dropped to one knee in the snow in front of Alphys, holding an open ring box in both hands.

"Oh my god, hold this." Frisk thrust her cup of cocoa into his hands and pulled out her phone, and had snapped at least a dozen photos before Sans even realized that he had taken the cup from her.

He couldn't tell Undyne was saying at this distance, but Alphys was obviously crying - of course - and all seemed to be going well until Alphys stammered something and ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Undyne kneeling in the snow.

Sans was not a cruel monster, not by any means, but he had cruel thoughts sometimes. Currently, it was 'I told you so' - but he didn't. Instead, he stood there, trying to decide if trying to comfort Undyne was worth the risk of impalement, when he heard the screech of an Alphys that had slipped and fallen.

Dropping Frisk's cocoa somewhere in the void probably, Sans took a shortcut to her, and kneeling in the snow beside her, the cold immediately seeped into his bones - why did Undyne think this was a good idea? "Are you alright?"

Alphys was crying, still, but he wasn't sure of it was because of Undyne or - nope, her arm did not normally bend that way. It also didn't usually have what seemed to be - was definitely a bone fragment sticking out of it.

He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Alphys!" Undyne panting, dropping to her already wet knees beside her and Sans. "Alph, babe, are you okay?"

She merely shook her head, clutching her injured arm.

"I'll heal you okay?" Undyne said, reaching out one hand, but Sans stopped her.

"That's a __compound fracture__ , Undyne, it needs set by a trained healer."

Alphys merely wailed at that. He turned around to see Frisk standing behind them, thankfully she hadn't slipped on the ice as well.

"I'll call my mom." She said, already dialing.

"Noooooo…." Alphys blubbered. There was glimmering yellow fluid leaking from around the break, her own magic trying it's best to heal her but falling short.

"The queen is a very good healer, baby, remember when she fixed my broken foot?" Undyne said soothingly.

"Can we not mention __more__ broken things?" Sans said through gritted teeth. He was not going to be sick. He wasn't.

If Undyne noticed his request, however, she hadn't responded, her attention entirely on soothing Alphys, petting her back and calling her baby. She was doing admirably well, considering the fact that Alphys seemed to have turned down her marriage proposal not five minutes prior.

"Let's get you out of the snow, Alph, it's freezing." Sans suggested, "And despite what you may think, the cold doesn't go right through me."

"It's not the time for your stupid jokes, Sans." Undyne complained.

"Mom isn't answering, we'll have to bring her inside." Frisk said, walking back up to them, shivering. "I'll run in and let her know we need her."

"I t-twisted my ankle, I c-can't walk on it.."

"I'll carry you Alphys, okay?" Undyne said, and Alphys started shaking her head violently.

"Would you rather I made you blue?" Sans asked softly.

Alphys nodded, earning him a look from Undyne.

"M-m-magic is g-gentler." She chattered, which probably saved Sans' life.

"Fine." Undyne growled. "But if you drop her.."

"I won't. Trust me."

"That's the problem."

Sans sighed. "Just do me a favor and grab Papyrus, okay? I'll do a better job without you breathing down my spine."

"Fine." Undyne said, stomping off.

"Ready, Alphys?" He asked her, patting her calf before standing up.

"D-do I have to?"

"You at least have to get out of the snow."

She merely nodded, and Sans reached out with his magic and made her soul blue to match the magic that currently wrapped around his fingers. "Alright, thank you for flying Air Sans, please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle, and for your sake and mine, let's hope this isn't a bumpy ride." He narrated as he held her aloft before him, carefully plodding through the snow.

She sniffled, but cracked a small smile.

"You don't have to answer, but what about the idea of marrying Undyne was so terrible that you had to go and break your arm over it?"

"I-I didn't mean to."

"It's a great distraction."

"You're the worst." She chattered.

"I know." He stopped as bunch of cars were leaving the lot in front of them.

"Sans, y-you know I'm not a b-boss monster, right?"

That explained things. "Well, I do now."

"Everyone thinks I am, b-but it was my twin and they.. they."

"Shh, Alph, shh." He soothed. "Don't make me call you baby like Undyne does."

"I - I'll tell Frisk."

"No one has to know about our love, __baby__."

"S-sans.." She giggled.

"Okay, okay. Baby bones might get jealous if I call you baby as well. But that won't be their name forever, you know." He started walking again, as the cars had gotten out of their way, and he went slowly, wary of slush they had left behind. "What about sweet cheeks?"

She groaned, from pain or frustration, he couldn't tell.

"How about, lovey-dovey, or pumpkin pie?"

"Sans.." She giggled.

"Pudding? Sweetie? Come on, anything is more creative than baby. I'll treat you right." He teased.

"Y-you already have one kid Sans, come on."

"Look at this cute face of mine, who wouldn't want to have kids with me."

"I'm so telling Frisk."

"What, that being flirted with distracts you from pain, who do you think I learned it from?" He moved her to the side of him so he could open the door and maneuver the both of them inside.

"You're the worst."

"Keep telling yourself that, but deep down you know you love me."

Frisk's favorite nap couch wasn't too far down the hall, and he was just setting Alphys down upon it when Frisk and her mother rounded the corner from the direction of the Embassy offices. Frisk appeared to be wearing her father's winter coat, and it gave her the appearance of being much smaller than she actually was.

"I'm going to have to let her touch my arm, aren't I?" Alphys asked, still cradling her broken arm with her good one.

"I could always take a crack at it."

"Please don't.."

"Where's Pap and Undyne?" Frisk asked, sitting on the other side of Alphys with a large first aid kit in her lap as the queen started trying to check the extent of Alphys' injury.

"Probably playing in the snow." Sans replied. "Pap needs to run off that cappuccino anyway." Undyne had been the one to give it to him, after all.

"I'm only healing one broken bone tonight, so they had better be careful." The queen said, kneeling in front of Alphys and gently taking her arm in her large white paws.

"Looks like everyone is kneeling for you today, Alph." Sans teased.

"I didn't know I was in the presence of royalty." Frisk added.

"My child, you are always in the presence of royalty." The queen said softly. "Alphys dear, what possessed you to run in the snowy parking lot?"

"U-undyne proposed to me so I ran away.."

"I'd run if she proposed to me to Alphys, don't sound so ashamed." Sans teased.

"Sans, I swear to - oh please don't touch it!" Alphys wailed, pulling her arm away.

"Here Alphys, hold my hand and squeeze if it hurts, okay?" Frisk said softly, offering her hand.

"Okay.." Alphys stammered, clutching her hand in her claws.

"We can make it into a game, one squeeze if it hurts, two if you want to kiss me."

"That's not fair!" Alphys whined.

"You could hold mine instead." Sans suggested. "Only my rules are a __little__ different." He winked.

Frisk groaned. "If you make a __bone__ -ing pun, I will-"

The queen cleared her throat, as if to remind them who they were in the presence of. " _ _Now__ , I'm not going to move it or anything child, I just need to feel out the break with my magic, it won't hurt, alright?"

"Promise?"

The queen made a noncommittal noise. "How about you tell me about that um, anime you like."

"Explain why you named your cat Kyube, Alphys." Frisk suggested.

"Okay..I named it after the cat-like creature in Madoka Magica that exchanges wishes for-" Alphys shrieked as the queen quickly put her bone back into place.

"Keep telling me dear, you're almost done." The queen said, grabbing what she needed from the first aid kit to splint the break, wrapping Alphys' arm quickly and tightly with a glowing green bandage.

"Geez mom, no anesthetic or anything." Frisk said, looking like she was going to be sick, which made two of them.

"Monsters are a bit little sturdier than humans in that regard, her own magic should have already done a pretty good job of numbing the pain."

"You guys are __terrifying__ sometimes." Frisk said. "Hey, Papyrus and Undyne have been outside for a really long time, do you think they're alright?"

"Undyne's going to get ice in her gills if she stays out there too much longer." Alphys said worriedly. "She didn't wear her scarf today even though I reminded her to.."

However, as though saying their names summoned them, Undyne and Papyrus tumbled through the door then, dripping slush everywhere, not to mention shivering and bickering. When Undyne noticed Alphys though, her entire expression changed and she bolted over to her.

"Did you put her back together, your Majesty? How are you feeling Alph?"

"I'm just kickstarting her healing now with a little extra magic, she should be perfectly alright in a couple days." The queen replied.

"I'm sorry I wasn't in here earlier to hold your hand, but __someone__ " at that she glared at Papyrus, "had to challenge me to a snowball fight."

"WHICH **__**I**__** WON!" Papyrus replied, proudly puffing his chest out and gesturing to himself.

"You didn't win! You avoided my attacks worse than your cheating brother!"

He had taught him so well. "I thought the point was not to get hit." Sans defended.

"No! You take bravely take your hits and then retaliate!"

"THAT'S NOT THE WAY FRISK AND SANS TAUGHT ME TO PLAY!"

"Well you got taught by the biggest couple of weenies in the kingdom!"

"I think that's enough, you two." The queen chided, and they stopped, muttering apologies. "Alright Alphys, I think that's all I can do for that arm. Keep it in the splint for at least a couple of days, and try to eat foods that have been made with a lot of magic, alright?"

Alphys nodded. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome child. Are you okay otherwise? Did you hurt anything else when you fell?"

Alphys shook her head quickly.

"She twisted her ankle as well." Sans said, ratting her out. To the other side of him, Papyrus and Undyne were bickering again, quieter this time.

"Which one?" The queen asked.

"The left one." Alphys murmured.

"That's an easy enough fix." The queen moved it, there was a flash of green and Alphys winced, and that was the end of that problem. "Better?"

Alphys merely nodded.

"Good. Hmm.." The queen removed one of the rows in the first aid kit on Frisk's lap, but didn't seem to find what she needed. "I thought I had a sling in here…"

"I have an idea." Sans said, grabbing the offensive sweater Frisk had previously been wearing from his bag and tying the sleeves together. He then looped it around Alphy's neck and held open the head hole so she could slip her splinted arm inside.

"Perfect." The queen beamed, before her expression quickly darkened. "I knew I saw that sweater earlier." She gave her daughter a look.

"Heh, no idea what you mean, Mom.." Frisk cowed under her mother's glare.

"I believe I said I never wanted to see that sweater again."

"Well.. actually you said you never wanted to see me wearing that sweater again." Sans corrected. Which had been her exact words, after all.

The queen sighed. "You two together will be the death of me, I just know it."

* * *

 **Betcha thought the title was a joke ;)**

 **Beyond that, I hope you enjoyed, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	17. A Glimmer of Hope

**AN: I'm gonna stop apologizing for slow updates and just say thank you to everyone for the sweet reviews and patience with how slow I've been. I've already started on the chapter after this one, so I hope to have it done in the next couple of days. Until then, I hope you enjoy this one :)**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen - A Glimmer of Hope

Frisk had curled up under her blankets and was considering sleeping until next Gyftmas eve - she figured if bears could go into hibernation and wake up to cute fuzzy cubs she could do the same with baby bones - when her phone rang. An intense piano melody, she wasn't sure if whatever Undyne would need was worth dragging herself out of bed to grab her phone, but she gathered all her remaining energy to do so anyway.

Only, the crying on the other line didn't sound like Undyne at all. "Alphys, what's wrong?"

The answer was waterlogged, Alphys was never good at speaking when she was upset, and understandably so.

"Take a deep breath for me Alph, okay?"

She did so loudly, stuttering on the outtake as a sob threatened her again.

"Another one for me now." She coaxed, until Alphys seemed to be calmed enough to explain what had happened.

"I'm worried that I-I've ruined everything with U-Undyne."

"What makes you think that?"

"I can't get her to talk to me about it."

That sounded like Undyne. "Maybe give it a couple of days to let her cool off?" Frisk really wasn't the greatest at giving relationship advice, but she hadn't caused anyone to break up yet.

"P-probably. I shouldn't have said n-no but I. I-" Alphys started crying again.

"Shh. It's okay. You had your reasons, I'm sure she'll understand."

Alphys made a noise that sounded like agreement, but Frisk wasn't sure. She decided to change the subject.

"How's your arm feeling?"

She sniffled. "A little sore."

The fact that Alphys wasn't already asleep after absorbing that much healing magic into her system was alarming, to say the least. "Don't forget to eat something made with magic. Do you have any cinnamon bunnies or anything?"

"I have some spider donuts, U-undyne and me always have them for breakfast on-"

Alphys was the most pitiful crier, it made Frisk want to cry with her. "Deep breaths, Alphys. Stick with me."

"I'm t-trying."

"I know. Hey. If you decide to end it, Sans and me could use a third." She said, her voice coming out a little raspy. She was going to lose her voice at this rate.

"Noooooo. He probably makes h-horrible puns in bed."

"Okay, I haven't thought of that." And she was not going to think about that right now. She wasn't. "Maybe we should ditch them and get together."

"What about your baby?"

"What about them? You can be their second mom, it'll be great."

Alphys was quiet then.

"You don't like kids, do you Alphys?"

"No! It's not that. It's just. They're intimidating. And… it sounds like you're losing your voice, do I need to let you go to bed?"

"I'm okay." She insisted. She had spent a bit too much time in the cold air earlier, and it had only irritated her throat further. "I'll have some tea and honey before bed."

"Good. Are you sure you're okay? You didn't eat m-much tonight and I worry."

Frisk's friends were good about forgetting about their problems in order to worry about her. It was endearing, but it made it difficult to help them when they needed it. "I'm okay, I probably just have a cold or something."

"Don't admit that to Papyrus."

"I have no intention to. Are you alright, Alph?" She asked, holding back a yawn.

She sniffled again. "I've probably been better."

"I know. Do you want to talk about why you said no to Undyne?"

She was quiet for a moment. "I'm afraid you'll think it's dumb."

"If it matters to you, then it's not dumb."

She was quiet, the only sound on the line was her sniffling.

"Just tell me, Alph. Please?"

"I - I. Well. How does Sans feel about being a parent?"

"You're not changing the subject on me."

"I'm not. Just trust me."

"He's sorting out some feelings. Boss monster stuff is weird." Frisk replied, trying and failing not to feel a little guilty.

"Right. Except Undyne is really excited about the idea of having kids. She wants a whole bunch."

Probably so she could train her own little army, Frisk figured. That would be Undyne's dream. "And you're afraid of the responsibility?"

"Yes. But. S-she's a boss monster, Frisk. And I'm. Not."

"Soo- oh." That explained things. "Does Undyne know?"

"I think so? It's not important, since it's not as big of a part of monster hierarchy anymore but. The power exchange is still there and.. I lived for so long without her, I don't think I could do it again." She admitted, bursting into tears again.

Frisk wasn't sure how old Alphys was, but she had at least a hundred years on Undyne. "I don't think that's stupid at all, Alphys. And Undyne won't either, okay?"

"What if she thinks I'm being selfish?"

"She won't, I promise. You love her and you don't want to lose her. That's hardly something she could get upset over." Frisk couldn't help but feel guilty, she was putting Sans through this without a second thought because she knew he would outlive her anyway. She was the selfish one, really.

She didn't need to be thinking about that right now.

"You're probably right." Alphys murmured.

"Go talk to her, okay? Make up under the mistletoe, it'll be symbolic." Hopefully Alphys wouldn't get a busted lip out of the deal. Frisk's still hurt a little.

"That would be kinda cute. She's sleeping right now though."

"And you should be too, you need to let that arm heal."

"I know. I just want to go in and snuggle up with her but I'm afraid she's too mad at me."

"Has she ever been too angry with you to snuggle?" Frisk knew for a fact that the two of them cuddled out most of their problems. It seemed to be a pretty good relationship model, other than the fact that Undyne seemed to prefer snuggling to talking about her problems.

"No.."

"I think the only reason she has to be upset right now is the fact that you have her phone."

"How did you know that?"

"You called me, you goof."

"Oh. Right." She yawned. "I must have ended up with hers somehow."

"I'm sure the only difference is the photo library." Frisk teased.

"Hey."

Frisk yawned. "Are you going to be okay if I get some sleep?" She was beyond exhausted.

"Of course. Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime. Just give her a couple days and then just tell her how you feel, okay? Maybe you can adopt the army of children that she desires. Or better yet, wait till baby bones is here and pukes on her a few times. That'll change her mind."

Alphys giggled. "You know, if you don't have godparents in mind yet.."

She hadn't even begun to think about that. There was so much to do. "They don't even have a name yet."

"I believe their uncle is dead set on 'Papyrus Junior'."

She wasn't even going to entertain that idea. The world only needed one Papyrus, after all. "Goodnight, Alphys."

* * *

Frisk woke up on Gyftmas morning to the smell of waffles and burnt sugar, which didn't do much for her overwhelming sense of nausea. One day her dad would perfect his candy cane waffle recipe, but today was not that day.

"Come on, baby bones, it's Gyftmas." She murmured, curling up with both hands on her achy stomach. "Give me a break." While she had a momentary reprieve from morning sickness following the sudden magical transformation of her child, it seemed to be back in full force, and then some.

She knew if she got out of bed, she was going to have to rush to the bathroom and she just wasn't prepared for that yet.

However, when she heard the thunderous voice of her aunt, Frisk decided that she didn't need to celebrate Gyftmas that year. She could just curl up in her bed forever, that was a viable option, right?

"Frisk, dear, are you awake?" Her mother's voice called. "Your aunt is here."

She groaned. The day hadn't even begun and she already didn't have enough energy for it.

"I'll be up in a few." She replied, wondering how long she could stay in bed before her aunt came knocking on her door to demand her company.

Depending on if she had a current love interest to regale her mother with the anecdotes of, anywhere from five minutes to the end of time. She would have to get up eventually either way, but it was going to be because she wanted to, not because her aunt was demanding it.

It was actually her upset stomach that drove her to get up, barely making it to the bathroom on time to offer her prayers to the porcelain god.

The pain having been soothed to a dull ache, she decided her next best plan of action was to lie on the cool tile floor. It was, after all, a very nice floor. However, a soft knock at the door ruined her state of nirvana - or at least, as close as she could get to an elevated state while delirious and lying beside a toilet.

"Are you alright, my child?"

"Been better, honestly." She replied, laying one arm over her eyes. Such a nice floor..

"You sound terrible dear. Can I come in?"

"Uh. I'm not wearing pants."

"I believe that's what got you into this mess, is it not?" Her mother replied, stepping in and kneeling down beside her.

"You really know how to kick a girl when she's down, Momma."

"Forgive me child, the joke had to be made."

She sighed. Sighing hurt, everything hurt, to be honest.

Her mother pushed Frisk's arm away with her paw to feel her temperature. "You're burning up. I think we should take you to the doctor."

"It's Gyftmas, momma. I want to eat slightly burnt waffles and pretend I still believe in Santa." She actually wanted to do neither of those things, but she also didn't want to spend the day in urgent care.

"Being a mother isn't always about what you want to do, my child."

A scoff from the direction of the doorway alerted Frisk that her sainted aunt was nearby and that did not help matters in the least. "Let her learn the hard way, Tor, that's what dad would have done."

"Now is not the time, Du." Her mother replied, helping Frisk to her feet.

Her knees weak, Frisk sat on the edge of the tub behind her, grateful that her mother had not yet let go of her. "Sis, will you tell Gorey to warm up the car?" She asked in a tone that was more of an order than a request. Being the queen, she was good at that.

Dulily sighed dramatically, but went to do as requested.

"If I let you go for a moment, will you be alright?" Her mother asked softly.

"I'm not sure." Frisk replied tentatively, her vision a little fuzzier than she cared to admit.

"Frisk, how long have you been feeling like this?"

"A couple of days? It hasn't been as bad as today but -" She paused to ride out a wave of nausea.

Her mother shook her head. "You really worry me, little one."

"I'm not little mom I'm -" She tried to protest as her mother helped her to the floor.

"I know dear." Her mother replied softly. "Do you need anything from your room? I'm going to grab my purse and then I'll take you to the car."

Did she need anything? "Um. Pants. And my phone and purse maybe? My phone is on the charger and my purse is.." She couldn't remember where she had tossed it. "On my desk maybe? I don't remember -"

"I'm sure I can find it." Her mother said soothingly, brushing her hair out of her face. The side of the tub was hard against her back and it grounded her in a way as her mother started to leave the room.

"Hey mom." She croaked.

"Yes dear?" She turned around to ask.

"Will you grab Get Wellephant for me too?" The small green stuffed elephant had been a gift from her father when she was getting her tonsils out, and it had accompanied her on nearly every hospital trip since then.

Her mother smiled. "Of course."

* * *

The trip to the hospital didn't seemed to take even less time than usual, but being slightly delirious probably didn't help her perception of time much. She was not, however, excited for her third hospital visit in a week, she had just gotten the sticky gunk from the last IV off the crook of her elbow, and she wasn't thrilled about doing it again.

Her father insisted upon carrying her in, and Frisk wasn't about to argue. The last thing she needed was to slip on the snow and break a bone, especially because she couldn't be magically healed like Alphys had been.

Frisk could only imagine the receptionist's look at the entire Royal Family waltzing into urgent care on Gyftmas morning, as she couldn't see anything beyond her father's fluffy embrace. If she played her cards right, she could pretend to be asleep and let her mother do the talking - which she was doing already.

In no time at all, the nurse had decided that she was, for one, dehydrated, and set to work hooking her up to an IV. Her mother, of course, fussed over her while they waited for the doctor, her aunt tutting at the ridiculous show of motherly affection, her father having been kicked to the waiting room for the fact that there just wasn't enough room for them all in there.

Her doctor was a younger lady, with platinum blonde hair and an exceptionally upbeat tone. "Well, Ms. Dreemur, it looks like you've got a pretty nasty case of the flu, which is not the best state to be pregnant in."

"I figured." Frisk replied. "Is the baby okay?" She would have given anything in that moment to be able to check that herself, as every other monster mother was able to.

"Well, we're going to do an ultrasound just to check things out, it never hurts to be safe, especially with how dehydrated you were when you came in. Then we'll go from there."

"The baby isn't human, you aren't going to be able to get anything on the ultrasound unless you're using one of the monster variety." She explained.

The doctor furrowed her brow as she looked at the clipboard in her hands. "I might need to consult with one of my colleagues, but I'll be right back."

They ended up deciding to move her to observation, having decided that releasing her before making sure the combination of the flu and a magical pregnancy wasn't going to drain her determination to dangerous levels. It didn't help that her OB/Gyn was out of town for the holidays, and his office was closed.

Naturally, her mother fussed over her more than Frisk though possible once she had been moved to her room in observation, readjusting the blankets every couple of minutes and grilling every nurse that walked by over miniscule things. She loved her mother very much, but she wished she had been the one to drive the very bored and grumpy Dulily home, rather than her much calmer father.

"Mom. Mom please, my blankets are fine. I'm plenty warm. Will you just sit down for a moment?" Frisk begged, her voice a sharp rasp. She had begged the nurses for water, but since she was still throwing up, they couldn't give her anything and she hated it. Her kingdom for something cold and sweet.

"I'm sorry dear, I just want to help - I.."

"I know Momma, but your fussing is making me anxious."

"I'll try to stop." Her mother said, sinking into the chair in the corner of the room. "It's just so hard seeing you in a hospital bed again and-"

"Hey, I know how you can help." Frisk said, cutting her off.

"Really? How?" Her mother was by her side faster than Frisk thought she was capable of moving.

"Can you check on baby bones for me? I-I can't and I forgot that you can."

"Of course. I was so worried about you that I forgot to consider that as well."

"It's okay, I'll just feel better the sooner I know they're alright." She said softly, taking her mother's hand in hers and holding it to her sore stomach. She felt the pass of warm magic from her mother, but didn't feel anything beyond that. She looked at her mother, hoping for reassurance, but there was none to be found.

"They're probably sleeping.." Her mother said, but Frisk wasn't convinced in the least.

"Try again, please?" She all but begged, and her mother consented. She felt the initial pass of magic, warmer, stronger, almost more urgent that time, but again felt nothing in response.

She heart felt like a rock in her chest. This was all her fault. She was going to lose them and it was all her fault.

A nurse rushed in, it was then that Frisk heard the beeping of her heart rate monitor. "Are you alright?" The nurse asked, out of breath.

"I-I can't feel them, my baby, I don't think they're okay." Frisk stammered, every nerve in her body feeling both dead and more alive than they had ever been.

"You shouldn't be able to feel them dear, you're only a couple months along, they don't even have legs to kick yet." The nurse soothed, pressing a button on the beeping monitor to quiet it.

"You don't understand." Frisk replied, trying and failing to hold back tears. "They're. They're."

"Monster babies can send off a magical signal even this early that we can feel." Her mother replied for her, steady even as her hands shook as only her mother could. "There's still something there, I can feel them, but that's all I can feel."

"I'm going to see if we can speed along our request with the healing center for a magic based ultrasound. And there's Healer coming by from there that should be able to help a bit more. We're not going down without a fight today, alright?"

Frisk could barely respond in a nod, but her mother thanked the nurse as she left to see what she could do.

Her mother's phone chimed loudly, and she pulled it from her pocket with the hand that wasn't holding Frisk's. "You're father's back dear, will you be alright if I leave to show him how to get here?"

She didn't want to be alone, but she wasn't sure if she could take her mother's fussing alongside the crushing weight in her soul. "I. Yeah. I might call, no I probably shouldn't but-" She didn't need to call Sans and worry him, especially not on Gyftmas morning, he was probably opening presents with Papyrus still, she couldn't be that selfish right now, as much as she needed him to be beside her.

"Call him dear, he'll want to know."

"It's Gyftmas morning Momma, I shouldn't.."

"It's past noon now dear."

"I'll think about it. Um. If you and dad want to get something to eat, I should be okay? You didn't get breakfast or anything."

"Neither did you dear, would you like us to bring you something?"

She shook her head. Her stomach was far too tumultuous to consider food right now. "I'll be alright."

"Frisk.."

"Please, Mom? I just need to rest a little bit. I'm not supposed to have anything until the nausea meds start working anyway."

Her mother looked like she very much wanted to protest, but didn't. Instead she pressed a kiss to Frisk's forehead and left the room.

Left to the quiet and her panic, Frisk stared at her phone, trying to decide what she wanted to do. She checked her UnderNet notifications, seeing the photo of her and her friends in their sweaters last night. She hadn't noticed previously, but Undyne was giving her bunny ears. She cracked a small smile. She hoped her and Alphys were figuring things out, they both deserved to be happy.

So did she, she supposed. She took a deep breath and decided to text Sans, rather than calling him, certain that her voice, even in it's current raspy form would give away what was going on.

He called her back immediately, rather than texting, which caught her by surprise. She let it ring for a moment, her phone buzzing madly, before she found the courage to answer, her other hand clutching her elephant to her side.

"Frisk's mortuary, you stab 'em, we slab 'em." Probably not the best way to answer the phone in a hospital, but she hoped the humor would cover the tremor in her voice.

"Frisk. That is your worst one yet." He replied.

"The psychic hotline one was worse."

"Eh, It's a toss up - uh _fuck_ , one second." She heard him set the phone down, managing to catch snippets of him yelling. "Papyrus! I swear to -" It was quiet for a few, but she heard what sounded like a metallic crash, before his voice drew nearer again. "Papyrus if your tailbone isn't on the couch in the next five seconds -"

She heard Papyrus' voice as clear as if he was in the same room with her. "I HAVE TO MAKE THE BEST SOUP SO I CAN - SANS, I DON'T FEEL SO WELL ALL OF A -" She didn't hear what happened next, but she could only imagine.

After a few minutes of muffled noises and silence, she heard the rustle of the phone being picked up. "Hey Frisk, are you still there?"

"Yeah, is everything okay?"

"Uh, Paps is pretty sick, can I call you back when I get him down for a nap?"

"Of course. Tell him I said to feel better soon."

"He'll appreciate that. Are you alright? Your voice is worse than it was last night."

"I-I'm fine." She wasn't going to worry him. She couldn't.

"That doesn't sound very - Papyrus! _For the love of_ \- I'll call you back, okay?"

She didn't even get a chance to respond before he hung up the phone, off to deal with whatever Papyrus was making a mess of now. He was a handful when he was well, Frisk didn't know how anyone could manage Papyrus while he was sick.

She set her phone in her lap, her hands instinctively cradling her stomach. Maybe this was for the best, she thought bitterly, the last thing Sans needed was something else to care for but.. she couldn't bear the thought of losing her child, she hadn't been a mother for very long, and she was definitely not very good at it but she couldn't give up now.

She stared down her stomach, or what she could see of it past her chest, willing her thick soul to be able to feel something, anything from the tiny soul that she carried.

She wasn't going to cry. Crying implied that there was something to cry over and they were okay. They had to be okay. Even if all she felt was a warmth in her heart, rather than from her stomach where she definitely needed to feel something, anything, some small inkling told her that it was all going to be okay. And even if it was just a rogue feeling in her panicked brain, she was going to believe it.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	18. In Which No One Remembers

**AN: _MIGHT_**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen - _In Which No One Remembers that it's Gyftmas, But There Might Still be a Miracle or Two_**

Sans dropped to the floor next to the couch where Papyrus was dozing. It was only early afternoon, but he felt like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Papyrus didn't get sick often, but when he did, he was exhausting. And the living room rug would never be the same again.

But, Pap seemed to be sleeping soundly for now, and Sans hoped he would rest for a few hours at least. After glancing up when Papyrus' murmured in his sleep - he hadn't awoken, thankfully, Sans pulled out his phone. Alphys and Undyne hadn't responded to him letting them know that they wouldn't be able to make it to the gift exchange later that night, but he didn't expect that the two of them were in any kind of mood to be hosting guest.

What did worry him, however, was that he hadn't heard from Frisk since their phone call a few hours prior. Even when she knew he was busy, she usually sent him funny messages of what was going on in her day. He decided to risk leaving the room to call her back.

Only, she didn't answer when he called, and an hour passed of him putting the house back in order without a response. He tried not to worry too much - maybe she had gotten the new phone she had asked for and was busy setting it up, after all. He had no reason to worry, yet here he was, worrying.

He was cleaning up the kitchen table from Pap's multiple delirious attempts to make soup when his phone rang. He nearly dropped it in his haste to answer, but it was Alphys, not Frisk.

"Sup nerd, what do you need?" He answered.

"Hey Sans, have you heard from Frisk today? She's not answering her phone."

"I talked to her earlier but I haven't heard from her since. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if her mom would share her turkey barley soup recipe with me. Undyne is sick and it's the only thing she wants to eat."

"She's sick too?"

"Yeah, it seems to be going around."

"Leave it to those two to get sick at the same time." Sans had never gotten sick himself, thankfully, but when Papyrus did he got the worst of it every time. "Have you tried calling Tori instead?"

"Since when do you call the queen Tori? And I did, but neither of them are answering."

Now he was worried. He knew he was being ridiculous, it was a holiday, they were probably still busy celebrating, but-

"S-sans, you still there?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I just-"

"Is everything okay?"

He hadn't mean to worry Alphys, but it showed in his voice and he didn't know to respond other than with the truth. "She didn't seem to be feeling very well earlier but I was so busy with Papyrus -" His phone chimed, and he glanced to see what it was. "Hey, Frisk is calling me, I'll call you back, okay?"

"Y-yeah. I hope everything's okay."

"Me too." He admitted, before ending the call to answer Frisk. "Pizza palace, the palace of pizza, can I take your order?" He said, rather than immediately asking her what was wrong.

"I'd like a large triple anchovy pizza with extra garlic please." She said, her voice cracking halfway through.

"First of all, gross. Secondly, are you okay?"

"Um. Well… Mostly?"

"That's not reassuring."

"How's Papyrus?"

"Sleeping, finally. I think he'll be okay with a bit more rest. The rug, on the other hand.."

"I think you should get a blue one, so if he hurls it'll be fine." Had she been crying?

"Orange this time."

"I can't win them all."

"You consolation prize can be telling me what's going on."

"Uh, that's a shitty prize."

"Frisk, please. I'm worried."

She was silent for a moment. "Okay, but you can't freak out."

" _Frisk_." He was already freaking out.

"Sans, please. Cause if you freak out I will and." She coughed.

He braced himself for the worst. "I'll do my best."

"I'm in the hospital. It's just the flu, dehydration, stupid human stuff."

"Are you alright?" He leaned against the counter.

"It's not really me that you should be worried about right now."

"What's wrong with baby bones?"

"Their soul is - I don't remember the word they used but there's something wrong - they're sick and not responding and -" The panic in her voice matched what he was feeling.

"Frisk- _Frisk_ \- Hey, deep breath for me?"

"I'm trying. I-"

"I'm going to call Alph and see if she can keep an eye on Papyrus. I'll be right there, okay?"

"I- Thank you."

"Of course. Are you at the hospital or the healing center?"

"Hospital. They might move me but they haven't decided yet."

"Just keep me posted." He paused. "Hey Frisk?"

"Yeah?"

Maybe now was not the time for what he actually wanted to say. "Can you get your mom to send Alphys her turkey barley soup recipe?"

"I'll ask her when she gets done hassling my doctors."

That sounded like the queen all right.

After getting off the phone with Frisk, Sans checked to make sure Papyrus was still sleeping - he had one leg flopped over the back of the couch but he was still snoozing - before calling Alphys.

"Did you ask about the recipe?" Alphys asked upon answering.

"She'll send it you in a few."

"Sweet. How's Frisk doing?"

"About that. I need a favor."

* * *

They had moved Frisk to the maternity ward of the healing center by the time Alphys and Undyne arrived, and Sans barely remembered to thank Alphys before leaving. Not wanting to make the jump across town in his anxious state and risk ending up in the wrong place, he drove. Which was excruciatingly slow, given the amount of holiday traffic.

After wasting time with the receptionist that didn't seem to know her way around the center, Sans seemed to be in the correct direction, if he could assume by the nursery window that he just passed. There were no infants there, apparently no Gyftmas miracles yet this year, but the night was still young and judging by the screaming down the hall, there would be soon.

He found Frisk relatively easy, due to the fact that her mother was speaking to a group of healers, two of them tired looking humans, one of them a bear-like monster that seemed familiar and yet not quite. The queen, to his surprise, wrapped him in a hug upon seeing him. He could never quite get over how fluffy she was, being used to soft-skinned Frisk and hard-headed Papyrus, but none-the-less he appreciated her affection.

"How is she doing?" He asked, once she had released him from her embrace.

"A little drowsy right now, they just gave her something to repress her determination." She replied, trying and failing to not sound worried.

"Is that safe?" He asked, wanting to undermine what the doctors were doing, but was too concerned to care.

"It's the best thing we can do for both of them right now." One of the healers replied. "May I ask what your relation to the patient is?"

"I'm her-" What was the right answer here. "I'm her boyfriend."

One of the healers looked intrigued. "Do you know if you child's soul has the same base magic signature as you - assuming they're yours, of course."

"Of course they're mine." He replied, a bit more defensively than he intended to. "And their magic and mine is basically the same - Do you think I can help?"

The healer he was speaking to looked at their colleague, who gave a look that Sans couldn't place. "Adding more of your magic to theirs could either dilute the infection or metastasize it. It's a gamble that I don't know if the mother or child should risk at this time. We'd have to run a couple tests on you both."

"Of course. Whatever they need."

After they finished speaking with the healers, he and Toriel went in to check on Frisk, who was snoring, drooling onto an already damp pillow. Her father was snoring as well, asleep in the rocking chair by her bed, a line of saliva hanging from his mouth.

"Sometimes it's hard to believe she's adopted." The queen mused softly, but Sans was already snapping a picture.

"Sans." The queen chided. "You had better not post that anywhere."

"I'd hate for anyone to find out that old king Fluffybuns is a sleep-drooler."

She sighed, but there was a hint of a smile there as well.

Frisk made a sound similar to a snort, stirring in her sleep. He wouldn't exactly call her the most graceful, but she was his all the same.

She woke up when a nurse came in some time later to talk some blood from her - he couldn't help but flinch at the needle, he should have known better than to watch. Frisk's parent's had left the room to get something to eat at this point, wanting to give Sans privacy while they had tested his soul, and so Frisk turned her delirious attentions to him.

"When did you get here?" She murmured. They must have given her something for her sore throat before this point, because she was sounding a little better.

"About an hour ago. Not that you'd know, lazybones."

"Not my fault. They gave me. Um." One of her hands flopped lazily as she failed to remember.

"DT blockers." He said. "Not exactly the kind of thing to make you want to run a marathon." They were usually given to older boss monsters near the end of their lifespan, to keep the amount of Determination built up in their system from overriding their magic.

"Maybe we should give some to Undyne." She giggled.

"She's on a lot of sleeping meds right now, I don't know if she needs them."

"If Alphys drugging her so she doesn't have to deal with their problems?"

"Something like that."

"Hey. Hey Sans." She reached out her hand for and he offered her his own. Her skin was much warmer than he was used to.

"Yes?"

"There's room in this bed for both of us, you know." She wasn't lying, either. Designed to accommodate monsters much bigger than Frisk was, they could both fit easily with room for a couple more. Sans found that a lot more soothing than the tiny cot like beds in the hospital, so sterile with all the machines and white walls. Here Frisk seemed far more comfortable, only tethered to a single machine that was keeping track of her vitals.

"I don't know if the hospital is the best place to cuddle." He replied, despite how much he wanted to hold her.

"Please? I'm so cold."

He couldn't say no to that. "Alright, scoot over, bedhog."

"You're the bedhog." She defended, moving over to give him to join her.

Naturally, he laid his head right on the puddle of drool on the pillow, which was unpleasantly cold. Humans really leaked too much for their own good, how could they possibly take in enough water to account for how much fluid they lost? But, more concerned about Frisk that the fluid dynamics of her species, he simply flipped the pillow over and lay back down, Frisk resting her head on his ribcage as he wrapped one arm around her.

Minus the hospital bed and overwhelming concern for her well-being, he could really get used to this. She was so warm, and there was something in his soul that just felt at peace when she was near.

"Hey Sans?" She murmured sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

He paused for a moment, apparently struck dumb by her admission. "I love you too." He replied, but she already seemed to have fallen asleep.

* * *

Sans was doing his best to fight falling asleep himself when one of the healers came into the room. He gave Sans an understanding smile as he did his best to extricate himself from Frisk's embrace.

"I'd just like to let you know that this is a good news only zone." Sans said, sitting up.

"Good and bad."

"You can start with the good."

Frisk murmured something, stirring beside him. "Did someone say good news?" She yawned.

"Mostly." The healer replied, as Frisk sat up, using Sans for balance. He took her offered hand in his.

"By all means, you have the floor." Sans said, trying and failing not to be impatient.

"Well, according to the test results, your magical signature and your child's are both similar and different enough that the risk of furthering the corruption of their magic is minimal."

"So a little bit more magic and they'll be better?" Frisk asked hopefully.

"Well, yes. But before we go any further, there are a few concerns."

"I believe I said this was a good news only zone." Sans said grumpily.

"I know. But please, hear me out." The doctor pulled a chair over and sat in front of them, which did not spell anything hopeful at all.

Frisk drooped a little beside him, one hand on her stomach. "Go on."

"Well, as I'm sure you know, magic and determination don't mix, and Frisk here may have one of the highest determinations levels on record, and that's when she's not fighting off an illness."

"My body is poisoning them, isn't it?" Frisk's hand shook a little in his, and Sans gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Basically. We could keep you on DT blockers and with enough magic from your partner, you might have a viable pregnancy, but we're not sure what that will do for the integrity of your soul."

"What do you mean by integrity?" Sans asked.

"I mean we don't have any long term studies on the prolonged exposure of magic on a human soul. She could be completely fine, or there could be any manner of complications."

"You're not telling me anything I don't know already." Frisk replied. "My obstetrician told me the same thing. You checked my soul, it's fine."

"It is right now, yes. If you are certain you want to continue with this -"

"I am." Her mother would be proud of her adamant tone.

"Like I was saying. If you are certain, we'd have to keep a close eye on you, DT blockers aren't going to do any favors to your immune system. I'll let you consider things before making a final decision, but in the end it is your decision."

Sans waited until the healer had left the room to risk voicing his opinion. "Frisk-"

"Don't you dare start."

"Frisk, please."

"You've felt their soul beneath your fingers, how can you dare consider letting it die."

"Because I don't want to watch you die."

"It's not going to kill me."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I thought you were on my side."

"Of course I'm on your side, I'm always on your side, but I refuse to help this pregnancy kill you."

She closed her eyes, her lip quivering. It seemed he was going to lose her one way or another because of this, and it was all his fault. But he'd rather make sure she lived without him than died because of him.

This had gone on long enough. He had been a fool to imagine it ending up any differently. No matter how much he wanted this kid, no matter how much he hated the idea of doing anything less than everything he could to make sure both his child and his soulmate would survive.

"This isn't your decision." She said, cold despite the quiver in her voice.

"How is it not my decision, Frisk? It's my kid, my magic that's going to send you to an early grave. Give it up, please. We can adopt, or you can try for another human one of you want, anything but this." He was never going to forgive himself for this. He didn't know if he could even go through with it but maybe if he convinced her that it was for the best, he could convince himself.

"Give me your hand."

"What?"

"Just do it."

He lay his hand in hers, and she surprised him by putting it to her chest, rather than to her stomach. "Can you feel my soul?"

"If I look for it, I can." She had no idea what she was asking him to do, but he didn't know how to tell her.

"Please."

"Alright." He found her heartbeat first, and entwined with that a different beat entirely, one that he couldn't describe other than it just. Frisk. Rough in places and yet so tender, full of every smile, every fear, what she was and what she dreamed to be and if it was anyone but her it would feel wrong to be listening as closely as he was. But it was her, and it felt right.

The more he listened, there was a softer feeling not entwined, but entirely part of her being. He would mistake it for the feeling of his own soul if it didn't feel so much like Frisk's and yet something else entirely.

"I don't understand." He murmured.

"Do you feel their soul in mine?"

"How did you know it's there?"

She looked up to meet his gaze. "I borrowed a couple books from Alphys - I just wanted to be able to feel their soul the way you can. And it said that a child's soul is bonded irreparably with that of their parents. If they die, part of me dies with them. Part of you dies with them, too."

"Frisk, that's just a boss monster thing, I don't know how-" He could not even begin to fathom how it had made an impression on her soul like that - the same way he was certain that if he felt for his own soul, he'd feel his child there too. And while he was sure (and yet not sure at all) that he could live with the pain, he couldn't make Frisk go through it as well.

"That's just the thing. What do boss monsters have in common with humans?"

"Determination - Frisk this is. This. Alright." It was just a myth, but some still believed that boss monsters were a result of the children of monsters and humans. "Just promise me that you won't die."

"I thought you didn't like promises."

"I don't like making them, but I can still hold you to one."

"Alright. I promise."

"You better mean it." He had not moved his hand from her chest, and while he wasn't actively feeling for it, he still felt the pulse of her soul stir at his touch.

"Of course I do."

"I guess we're doing this."

"You guess?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	19. Pie is the Important thing Here

**AN: I wouldn't suggest reading this chapter on an empty stomach.**

 **Also, I hope you all know how much I love you, because Fallen London was released as a mobile app today - well yesterday as I'm posting this but I still managed to finish this chapter in between playing one of my favorite games.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen - Pie is the Important Thing Here**

Frisk was awoken to a smell that was similar to spice cake, and that alone was enough to put her in a good mood. She had been discharged from the hospital a couple of days ago with the closest to a clean bill of health she was going to get in her condition. She had spent the majority of the time since napping and reassuring Sans that the long pauses between her texts weren't because she had been readmitted to the hospital.

Her eyes slowly adjusting to the sunlight streaming in her window, she grabbed her phone from where it lay on the floor, rather than deciding to get out of bed. Her last message from Sans was a weird joke about bears he had heard at work, and she had a new message from Papyrus reminding her that she was not allowed to bring pie to the gift exchange potluck at Alphys and Undyne's later that night because he had called dibs on desserts this year.

That probably meant he was going to try to make spaghetti cupcakes again, but if her mother insisted upon sending along one of her famous pies, that wasn't exactly her fault.

What time was it? A bit after noon. She probably needed to get out of bed soon if she was going to be making something for that, but part of her just wanted to take the easy route like Sans and buy drinks and cheese puffs on the way there. Gummy worms were the life of the party, right?

She was just so tired. The doctor had assured her that the drowsiness from the DT blockers would lessen over time, but that didn't help her much now. In the meantime, maybe she could make taco dip or pickle wraps or something. That was easy enough.

After lying in bed for a shameful amount of time fantasizing over how good taco dip and pickle wraps sounded, she decided to get out of bed and make her dreams a reality.

She found her mother bustling about the kitchen while she was looking for her coat, putting the finishing flair on the top crust of a pie. The table was scattered with flour and odd bits of dough, but what confused her most were the empty packages of pepperoni and string cheese wrappers.

"Mom, you do know that pizza pie is just an expression, right?"

"While that sounds like a fun experiment, my child, I'm just making a simple apple pie. I did do the prep work for pizza bites, you'll just need to throw them in the oven when you get to Alphys'. There's homemade marinara and garlic butter for them as well." She said all of this without breaking her concentration, and Frisk had already found the leftover string cheese in the fridge by the time her mother had put the pie in the oven.

"You didn't have to do all that Momma, I was going to make pickle wraps."

"I know, but you've been so tired I didn't want you to have to worry about it." Her mother's voice was full of concern.

While Frisk and Sans had decided not to tell anyone else about how dangerous her pregnancy really was, she had a feeling her mother knew already. "Thank you." She said, finally managing to get her cheese wrapper open. "I'll probably still make pickle wraps because I need them in my life, but I'm sure the nerds will love pizza dippers as well."

Her mother smiled. "This pie is for you as well. I know you said not to but I just couldn't resist."

"I could always just accidentally leave the pie here and shame eat it while I binge watch cooking shows tomorrow." The food channel was showing a marathon of her favorite competitive baking show and she had every intention to shame eat a lot of something.

"I could bake you another one for that purpose." She offered.

"Mom, don't go to the trouble of baking me a pie so I can lay on the couch and eat the whole thing in one sitting, that's weird." She pulled her string cheese in half and took a bite.

"I definitely ate a whole pie or two when I was pregnant, there's nothing wrong with it."

"You ate a whole pie last night, don't pretend it was a pregnancy thing." Surprisingly, there were a few leftover pies from the Gyftmas celebration that they had taken home, but there wasn't any trace of them now.

"Your father helped." Her mother defended as Frisk searched the fridge for another snack. A wayward bag of pepperonis caught her eye and she decided it was worthy of being devoured.

"If by helped you mean ate an entire pie by himself as well."

"Oh all right." She conceded. "Dear, if you're hungry, let me make you something, you don't need to snack on leftover ingredients."

Frisk paused halfway through considering that dumping the entire bag into her mouth would be faster. "You don't have to make me anything, I was just going to pick up something on the way to the store." While probably not the best option while recovering from the flu, something greasy and regrettable sounded great.

"Frisk, you know how I feel about fast food."

"I respect your opinion, Momma, but there is a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings calling my name." Abandoning morals, she decided to go for dumping the bag of pepperonis into her mouth.

"It's hard to argue with someone eating an entire bag of pizza toppings." She heard her father chuckle.

Her mother sighed. "What am I going to do with her?"

Lamenting the amount that she had dropped on the floor and with a mouth full of the rest, Frisk really couldn't defend herself very well.

"You could take away her pie privileges and let me have the one you're baking."

Frisk swallowed the majority of her bad pepperoni decision in order to defend her pie. "That is cruel and unusual punishment and as king you should be ashamed."

"I'm sorry but haven't you heard the new royal decree? Anyone who partakes in fast food is banned from enjoying pie as well."

"Mother do you hear him? He's becoming a tyrant and I think it's time you passed leadership of the kingdom on to me."

"My own daughter, questioning my ability to rule. I thought this day would never come." He put the back of his paw to his forehead in mock betrayal. "I might need a pie to get over the heartbreak."

"Tyrants don't get pie, I'm sorry. It will be my first decree once I usurp your rule."

"Do you hear her, Tori my dear? A revolutionary under our roof."

"Alright you two, I'll bake some more pies, there's no need for a coup."

* * *

Frisk was carefully loading food into the backseat of her car, her father having helped her with the delicate game of Tetris that was fitting presents into her car's tiny trunk, when her phone started buzzing angrily in her coat pocket. It was none other than Papyrus.

"Hey uncle to be of the year, what's up?"

"HELLO FRISK! I WAS JUST CALLING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAD REMEMBERED YOUR COAT AND NOT TO BRING DESSERT."

Apple pie was totally an appetizer, right? "I have my coat, don't worry. It's the big puffy white one that Sans says makes me look like a marshmallow." She hadn't been able to find her usual one, but the mallow one would do.

"GOOD. DOES YOUR CAR HAVE AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF FUEL?"

"I filled it up on the way to the store this morning. Paps, you really don't need to check on me, I've got this."

"I KNOW, BUT I AM JUST MAKING SURE - WHAT WAS THAT SANS?" Papyrus shouted the last part, making Frisk flinch. "I AM JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE HUMAN WILL BE MAKING IT TO ALPHYS' PARTY SAFELY - FRISK, SANS WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU WILL STOP AT THE STORE AND PICK UP - SANS! YOU CAN GET CHEESE PUFFS YOURSELF! IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT THAT YOU'RE TOO LAZY TO COOK."

"Tell him to get the giant corkscrew shaped puffs, those are my favorite."

"HE WANTS TO KNOW IF HE CAN FULFILL ANY OTHER OF THE LADY'S - WAIT - SANS! I AM NOT PARTICIPATING IN YOUR WEIRD ATTEMPTS AT FLIRTING!" Click.

Not for the first time, Frisk wondered what she was going to do with the two of them. But maybe it was a bit too late for questions like that, being as she was carrying the newest member to their weird little family.

And maybe they were her weird little family too.

Okay, she was not getting emotional right now. She was going to drive to Undyne and Alphys' house, steal the affections of their massive cat, and eat a bunch of food. It had already been a herculean task to not eat all of the taco dip earlier and it wasn't getting any easier.

Undyne greeted her at the door, and she, Sans, and Papyrus had taken over the task of unloading her car for her before she could even insist that she wanted to help. Luckily, she had carried in the gift bag holding the fragile gift she had bought for Alphys with her, anticipating Undyne's one trip or die strategy which had already deposited two of her clumsily wrapped gifts into the snow.

"Aw Frisk, you made taco dip just for me, you shouldn't have." Sans teased as he carried the massive plastic wrapped platter of it in, balancing the three bags of assorted tortilla and nacho chips on his head in the way that only he could.

"Uh, real funny but I will fight you." She warned.

"FRISK YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME!" Papyrus wailed, having discovered the pie sitting in the passenger seat.

"It's an appetizer pie, Papyrus." Frisk soothed, heading outside to retrieve it from him.

He looked a little hurt as he handed it over to him. "PROMISE?"

"Of course. Right Sans?" She looked over at Sans who was retrieving the containers of food and baking sheets from the back. "Apple pie is an appetizer pie."

"Of course. Fruit pies are the apple salad of the pie world. Don't worry Paps, she isn't trying to outshine your cookie dough brownies."

"Papyrus that sounds like the most magical thing on the planet, marry me."

"HUMAN, I KNOW I AM THE SUPERIOR BROTHER, BUT WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS."

"Frisk!" Undyne called. "Stop seducing the skeletons, Alphys needs you to taste test her chili."

" _Aww_ , can I seduce the skeletons later?" Frisk called back as she grabbed the two packages Undyne had dropped and headed inside.

"You can do whatever you want with them as long as I don't have to watch." Undyne teased, taking the gifts off her hands to add to the already impressive pile under the tree.

Deciding not to respond to her friend's teasing, she scooped up Kyube, who was dozing on the back of the couch and went to assist Alphys. Being rather short, Alphys was standing on a stepstool in order to be able to look into the massive stewpot that held her chili creation, stirring with her good arm, her broken one hung in its sling - a proper one, not a repurposed sweater - her fingers curled around a container of some sort of spice.

"Did you omit the ghost peppers this year?" Frisk asked, setting the cat down in order to grab a spoon from the drawer.

"Undyne wasn't even allowed to help this year, that was awful."

"I'm sure that really broke her heart." She teased. "Did you let her into the kitchen at all?"

"She made an oriental salad with cabbage and ramen noodles, but I kicked her out when I started browning the meat."

"Good, then this is safe to try." Frisk said, dipping her spoon in. "It needs cinnamon." Was her expert opinion.

"I knew I was forgetting something." Alphys replied. "You're a lifesaver."

"I don't know if suggesting cinnamon counts as being a lifesaver." Sans teased, already opening the container of pickle wraps. "I thought you didn't like these." He asked, taking a bite.

Frisk had to think about that one for a moment. She didn't like pickle wraps. "They sounded good." She shrugged.

"Is someone getting cravings already?" Undyne said with a wide grin.

Alphys saved Frisk from having to respond by brandishing her ladle at her. "Out of the kitchen, you're still under a ban."

Undyne put her hands up in surrender and backed out of the kitchen as Alphys turned her attentions and ladle based threats on Sans, who was on his third pickle wrap already. "You too, Sans, you're supposed to be keeping Undyne and Papyrus from shaking gifts to guess what's in them."

"It is my solemn duty." He shrugged, taking a fourth wrap with him for consolation.

"Am I the only one allowed in the kitchen?" Frisk asked as she started to clear the table so she could put the pizza dipper on a pan. "Because it's a bad day when the only person you can trust in the kitchen is the pregnant lady. I might eat all the snacks."

"Better you than Sans." Alphys replied, dumping cinnamon into the pot. "At least you have a physical stomach to slow you down."

"Fair enough." She replied, removing the sticky note from the pan with her mother's instructions on it. "Preheat the oven to 375 for me, will you?"

"What are you making?" Alphys asked, turning the knob on the oven to the correct temperature.

"Pizza dippers - Mom made them actually but she's trusting me to bake them."

"We better not let her down then."

Frisk murmured in the affirmative with a mouth full of pickle as she put the rest of the wraps in the fridge. Why had she never liked them before - pickles, ham, and cream cheese, this was heaven. "How's your arm feeling?" Frisk asked as she sat on the counter to wait for the oven to preheat.

"I should be able to start using it again in the next couple of days - I'm just being careful now."

"I get you - um - have you and Undyne talked about things?"

Alphys stole a glance at the doorway. A crashing noise and some unintelligible yelling from the direction of the living room let them know they were in the clear. "We haven't talked about it yet but. We'll work it out. We always do." She set the jar of cinnamon down, staring at it rather than meeting Frisk's gaze. "Anyway. How are you and the smallest of the troublesome skeletons doing?"

"Assuming you mean baby bones, they're doing alright, I wasn't even sick this morning. And the doctor says that their soul should be mature enough to start producing their own magic in the next month or so, so things should be getting a little easier."

"That's awesome. Do you think they'll use blue magic like Sans?"

"It's likely, but personally I'm hoping that they end up with yellow magic or something, it would really round out our group." She hopped down to grab the tray of pizza dippers and put them in the oven.

"You know, baby bones still needs godparents." Alphys mentioned as Frisk was helping herself to a glass of soda. A little caffeine never hurt anyone, and she wanted to be awake for the gift exchange, after all.

Wait.

It took her a moment to process what Alphys had said. "Are you putting yourself in the running, Alph?"

"Uh. Well. It's a start."

Frisk grinned. "Well, I'll probably want to discuss it with my weirder half, but I'll have to say your chances are pretty good."

"Your weirder half?"

"Well, what would you call him?"

* * *

Despite her contraband caffeine, Frisk couldn't help but feel a little drowsy after eating, and let her head droop a little onto Sans' shoulder as they all got comfy around the tree.

"FRISK, DON'T FALL ASLEEP BEFORE I CAN GIVE YOU YOUR AMAZING GIFT!" Papyrus wailed.

"Don't worry, there's still dessert to be had, she has more than enough reasons to stay awake." Sans teased, nudging her.

She elbowed him back. "Just because it's the only reason you're still awake." If she was being honest though, cookie dough brownies sounded amazing.

"WHILE MY BROWNIE CREATION IS INDEED AMAZING, I HAVE BEEN WAITING A VERY LONG TIME TO GIVE EVERYONE THEIR GIFTS."

"Alright Paps, but since you called dibs on bringing desserts, I get to give out my gifts first." Frisk replied.

Papyrus pondered this for a moment. "THAT IS FAIR. BUT NEXT YEAR YOU CAN BRING DESSERTS."

Papyrus' shrieking over how much he loved the waffle iron Frisk had gotten him meant that she didn't get to see Alphys' reaction to the crystalline cat ornament that was a perfect clone of Kyube, but how could she begrudge Pap his excitement.

"ALPHYS AM I STILL BANNED FROM THE KITCHEN? I NEED TO MAKE WAFFLES." He already had it out of the box and was bouncing in standard Papyrus fashion.

"I think everyone is still full from dinner." Alphys said softly.

"You can make some first think tomorrow morning, Paps." Sans told him. "I bought mini chocolate chips and everything."

"IS THAT WHY YOU WOULDN'T LET ME BUY A NEW WAFFLE IRON?"

"Are you accusing Frisk and me of being in cahoots? We can hardly stand each other. Right Frisk?" The copy of Smash Bros. she had gotten him - having grown tired of being annihilated in Mortal Kombat - was sitting in his lap.

"Right. Total weirdo." She teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

"YOU COULD HAVE FOOLED ME! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus replied.

The night quickly dissolved into a flurry of wrapping paper and excited shrieking - most of it from Papyrus - but Frisk couldn't help but shriek over the giant plushy teddy bear that Sans had gotten her.

She screamed her contentment, the sound muffled by her burying her face in the bear's fur as she squeezed it. It was just so freaking soft.

"Good job replacing yourself." Undyne teased, but Frisk heeded no mind to his reaction because giant teddy bear. It was as about as tall as she was while sitting down, and she didn't know what possessed him to get her something like that but she loved it.

"Hopefully my second gift convinces her not to leave me for the bear."

"Your chances don't seem very good right now." Alphys replied.

"Frisk, you're breaking my heart."

"You don't have a heart." She replied, removing her face from the bear to kiss his cheekbone. "And I'm not leaving you for the bear. I'm leaving you for Papyrus, because he knows how to make cookie dough brownies."

"Well, I don't have a gift to account for that, but I hope you like it anyway." He said, handing her a smaller package.

She about melted when she opened it. It was a set of bibs with dinosaur patterns on them and a onesie with a skeleton design on it. "Alright, I guess you can stay." She said, very aware of the blush on her cheeks. "Thank you."

Alphys gave gifts to everyone next - and while Frisk didn't understand the significance of the giant rubber band ball that Alphys and Sans gifted back and forth to each other every year, he found it in the Pokémon themed stocking she had given him that was otherwise full of tiny chocolate bottles with alcohol and coffee in them. Like every year, one of the bands was pulled off and shot at the other.

The last gift of the night was given to Alphys by Undyne, and the small box made Frisk nervous, not wanting to see her friend break another bone. Alphys had to be thinking the same thing, because she hesitated to take it from her.

"It's something different, I promise." Undyne said, realizing what it looked like.

"S-sorry.." Alphys said softly.

"No, it's okay I-. Um. Anyway. I hope you like it."

Her best friends, masters of romance and tact.

It was a necklace, the pendant being a chemical bond of some sort. Frisk had seen something similar in her campus bookstore, a coffee mug printed with the chemical formula for caffeine.

"It's the chemical make-up of love." Undyne explained, in response to Alphys' confused expression.

"This is the chemical make-up of Omega-3, honey, but I love it anyway. And you." She undid the clasp and put it on.

"Sorry, it was the last one in the store, the salesperson must be bad at chemistry or something."

"Isn't Omega-3 one of the components in fish oil?" Sans asked with one of his horrible grins.

Undyne shot him a dangerous glare, but Alphys laughter drew her attention away. "See, it's perfect."

Undyne didn't look completely pleased, but she didn't argue either, and smiled when Alphys' kissed her cheek.

Turning her attentions away from the couple having a moment, she looked over at Papyrus, who was sound asleep, holding his new waffle iron to his chest. She couldn't help but get out her phone to snap a picture, but Sans had already beat her to it, as an UnderNet notification let her know he had just posted a picture with the caption _Papyrus found true love this year._

"He'll be up all night if I wake him now." Sans mused, pocketing his phone.

"You could stay here tonight." Alphys offered. "You too, Frisk, you look a little too tired to drive. The guest rooms never get used and the sheets are clean."

"Well, I for one can never say no to clean sheets." Frisk yawned.

"Here I was thinking you preferred sheets with crumbs in them." Sans replied.

"I'm sure you do." Undyne teased.

"Why does everyone always think my sheets are dirty? I wash them just as much as the next monster."

"It's probably your tendency to fall asleep while eating in bed." Frisk said.

"A guy falls asleep snuggling a takeout bag _one_ time."

"Three times that I know of." Frisk corrected.

"I'm sure the end of this is thrilling, but I'm tired." Undyne yawned. "I'm sure you know how to find everything. G'night nerds." She got up and started heading towards her bedroom.

"Undyne, that's not being a very good host." Alphys whispered.

"Oh, right. Do you two need fuzzy handcuffs or something?"

Alphys snorted.

"You can help by going to bed." Frisk replied, pushing the two of them out of the room, both of them giggling like mad.

Frisk was nearly asleep by the time Sans got done putting Papyrus to bed, the more excitable of the brothers having been woken up by Alphys and Undyne's giggling fit, but was happy she had managed to stay awake when he curled up in bed with her.

"I hope you know that I'm going to have the entire Fluffy Bunny series memorized by the time our kid is born."

"Are you saying you regret getting Papyrus his own set already?"

"All I'm saying is that you're in charge of bedtime stories."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	20. You May Have Won the Battle

**AN: to the reviewer that said they were sick and needed a chapter, I hope this arrived in time to save you from certain death. If not, hopefully they have wifi in heaven, and my sincerest apologies.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty - You May Have Won the Battle..

Sans wasn't entirely certain where he was when we woke up, but since Frisk was sleeping beside him, he couldn't be anywhere too terrible. It took him a few moments before he remembered that they had decided to stay over after the gift exchange the night before, and if he knew his brother at all, he would be hearing crashing from the kitchen as he fired up his new waffle maker.

Until then, however, Frisk was soft and warm beside him and he could resist snuggling up closer to her. She murmured softly in her sleep, pressing her hips against his as he nuzzled his face into the back of her neck. Unsurprisingly, she smelled faintly of cinnamon.

He could hear Papyrus beginning to wake in the next room, a clamor of blankets and bone hitting the floor as he, quite literally, rolled out of bed. His race car had guard rails for a reason.

"Em, keep it down I have a lab in the morning.." Frisk murmured, batting at the air in the direction of the noise with one arm. Sans remembered Frisk's complaints about her early anatomy lab - she had nearly failed the section over the skeletal system and Sans had teased her to no end about it.

Papyrus bouncing down the hallway singing 'This is Halloween' earned Frisk's roommate a couple unwarranted swears as Frisk rolled over and buried her head in Sans' chest, angrily holding a pillow against her head.

"Huh." She murmured, her grip on her pillow slackening.

"Are you getting the feeling you're not in Kansas anymore?"

"Kansas is quieter." She grumbled.

"Not from the way you were swearing at your roommate."

"I hope her siblings are waking her at the crack of dawn every day." She replied, stretching and yawning.

"I don't think anyone deserves that."

"She got drunk and ate all my Cheetos." She complained, snuggling back up against him.

"How dare she." He yawned, absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair.

She murmured in response - something about a boyfriend that always smelled like smoke -relaxing against him as he continued to stroke her hair. Everything about her was just so soft and he didn't know how to deal with it some days.

Meanwhile, Papyrus was banging loudly on what Sans' could only assume to be the door to Alphys and Undyne's bedroom, yelling something about needing Alphys' electronics magic to help him figure out his waffle iron.

He considered getting up to help, but decided against it. Alphys had fireproofed the kitchen for a reason, after all.

Within a few minutes, there was a loud, rapid knocking on the door. "SANS! FRISK! COME SHARE IN THE WAFFLE BOUNTY I AM PREPARING!"

Frisk groaned. "What time is it?"

"Waffles o' clock, obviously." He replied, then called to his brother, "We'll be up in a couple, you know how the princess doesn't like getting out of bed."

"Me? You're the one who probably holds the world record for consecutive days spent in bed."

"I still miss having that fridge in my room.." he sighed dreamily.

"I CAN HEAR YOU, AND WE ARE NOT PUTTING THE FRIDGE BACK IN YOUR ROOM!"

"Come on Papyrus, I really want to go for the world record this year."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I DON'T THINK YOU CHANGED YOUR SOCKS FOR A MONTH!"

"Frisk says I can!"

"I did not!" She replied, bopping him with a pillow.

"You did too, I can see it in your eyes. You think I need to be a world record holder."

"Papyrus, are those two out of bed yet?" Undyne called from the kitchen. He could smell bacon, it was definitely going to be a good morning.

"NO! SANS IS GOING ON ABOUT MIND READING AGAIN, IT'S WEIRD."

"Tell them to put clothes on already, they aren't getting out of helping with breakfast!"

* * *

Sans and Frisk entered the kitchen to find Undyne and Papyrus covered in flour, while Alphys was fiddling with a small gadget at the kitchen table. Sans could only assume the gadget was made for chopping, being as it was outfitted with several knives. Knowing how most of Alphy's prototypes went, he was happy to see that it was in several pieces.

Frisk slid into a seat next to Alphys, taking the screwdriver from her, while Sans walked over to his brother and Undyne, who seemed to be too busy with the waffle iron to notice him.

"You know the flour goes into the mix, right?" He asked, sitting on the cleanest space of counter he could find.

"Sir Mixabot is on the fritz again." Alphys explained, gesturing to the sink, where what may have once been a fully operating mixer before Alphys got her hands on it sat covered in flour and half beaten eggs.

"Sounds like Baby Got Batter." Frisk said, beating him to his similar, anaconda themed punchline with a self-satisfied grin.

"WHAT DOES THE BABY HAVE?"

"A never ending hunger, right now." She replied, having decided not to explain the joke. "Are there any pickle wraps left?"

"YOU'LL SPOIL YOUR APPETITE FOR WAFFLES!"

While Frisk was defending her right to pickles and waffles, Alphys seemed to have finished putting her gadget back together, and set the many bladed device on the cutting board with some potatoes. It diced through all the spuds in its way, before continuing off the end of the table where it broke upon hitting the floor.

Alphys sighed.

"Let me help you with that." Sans offered, hopping off the counter, and kneeling beside Alphys, who was struggling to pick up the tiny blades in her claws.

"Thanks, I can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it."

"It did its job at least." He offered, piling a bunch of tiny gears on the table.

"Yeah." Alphys replied, sounding sad as she inspected a broken cog. "I just can't seem to get the auto-off function right."

"Hey, do you remember when I invented the knife-wielding tentacle?" It's only function was to swing a knife around viciously, defending it's off switch.

"How can I forget, it shredded half of my blueprints for the core."

"Those were the conceptual blueprints, it was fine." If they hadn't figured that out, the core would have had a meltdown while they were trying to work on it.

Alphys shook her head. "That thing plagued our entire project, don't bring it back now."

"Do you still have it?" He asked curiously, as they both got off the floor, having successfully retrieved all of the murderbot's parts.

"I'm pretty sure it's going strong back in my old lab, I have no idea how."

"What are you two talking about?" Frisk asked, having taken his spot on the counter with the pan of taco dip perched precariously on her lap. Meanwhile, it looked like Undyne and Papyrus had a successful pile of waffles going, never mind the larger pile of burned ones.

"The reason why I don't work with Sans anymore." Alphys explained, sorting her gadgets parts into a box marked 'Vegetoid's Worst Nightmare'. He could only assume she let Undyne name the kitchen gadgets.

"You two used to work together?"

"Just the once." Alphys replied, giving Sans a pointed look. "I needed help replacing some parts on the Core." While working they had hypothesized that it had to have been built by someone able to teleport, being at that was literally the only way to get to some of the components. They also tried not to think about it too much.

"Well I had fun." He shrugged, walking over to steal some chips from Frisk, who hid the bag behind her back, smirking at him.

"You'll spoil your breakfast." She chided.

"Sounds like you don't need this then." He replied in kind, taking the pan of dip from her and putting it just out of her reach.

"You have just made yourself a deadly enemy."

"I'm shaking in my slippers." He teased.

"You're playing with fire there, Sans." Alphys warned, turning up the heat on her sizzling pan of well chopped potatoes.

"I don't know, Frisk is pretty hot, but not quite that hot." He put a palm on her forehead for emphasis. "No burns here."

"I knew you like Grillby better than me." Frisk pouted.

"Well, he does cook a pretty good burger."

She crossed her arms in front of her. "So that's all it takes to win your affections?"

"Well…" He leaned forward and kissed her, grabbing the bag of chips from behind her back while she was distracted.

"Hey!"

Grinning, he offered her a chip, pulling it away just before she could take a bite.

"Sans!"

He snickered with a mouth full of chips.

"You're just mean."

"Alright, I'm sorry." He offered her another chip, Frisk falling for his prank a second time.

"Why do I like you again?"

"Uh. Because I'm cute."

"Huh." She replied noncommittedly.

"Whenever you two are done flirting, breakfast is done." Undyne said, carrying a heaping plate of waffles to the table.

"This isn't flirting, this is a declaration of war." Frisk replied, pushing past Sans as she hopped off the counter.

"Good job Sans, you reignited the Great War."

"They'll call it the crunch heard round the world." He replied, taking a seat beside Papyrus, Frisk having settled into place on the other side of the table, between Alphys and Undyne.

"Will you be my second in command, Papyrus?" Frisk asked.

"You can't take my only brother from me, he's on my side."

"THAT'S A NO CAN DO, SANS, I HAVE A DUTY TO FRISK AND BABY BONES."

"Why thank you, Papyrus." Frisk said, smirking at Sans as she piled hash browns onto her plate.

"Fine, if it's a Civil War you want. Undyne?"

"Ehh…" Undyne replied. "I'd rather not fight for a losing side."

"Alphys, you got my back, right?"

"I'm not reenacting Romeo and Juliet."

"Come on, I'll turn the other way if you want to romance the other side."

Frisk was snickering. "Commander Papyrus, can you pass me the butter?"

"YES, MA'AM." He saluted - nearly whacking Sans in the face in the process - before handing over the butter.

"Where's Kyube, I know he'll fight for me." Sans asked, not ready to admit defeat.

"Is an army paid in cat treats really an army?" Alphys asked, cutting into her stack of waffles. They did bear a striking resemblance to the Pumpkin King, even while covered in syrup.

"I wouldn't need to employ cats if my friends weren't a bunch of traitors."

"Maybe you two need to go out and negotiate a peace treaty." Alphys winked.

"Do you want to go to Grillby's with me tonight?" Sans asked. "I'll admit to all my war crimes."

"I can be persuaded." Frisk replied.

"THE WAR CAN'T BE OVER ALREADY."

"Don't worry Papyrus." Undyne replied, "We won't let her give in that easily. Come on Frisk, make him take you someplace nice."

"Oh, I know!" Alphys exclaimed. "I won tickets to the Starlight's winter meteor shower party, you two should totally go."

"Why don't you and Undyne use them?" Frisk asked.

"We're not allowed back after last year." Undyne replied. "Apparently supplexing the sushi chef is frowned upon."

"But that's not important." Alphys added. "What is important is you two should go, it's a huge deal."

"Uh. I thought we were discussing a peace treaty here."

"Right." Sans agreed. "That sounds like a date." He winked at Frisk, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Come on you two, you haven't gone on your first date yet and it needs to be awesome!" Undyne said. "That way you can tell baby bones all about how romantic it was."

Frisk swallowed her mouthful of waffle. "Okay, but who actually tell their kid about their first date?"

"Besides, wasn't you and Alphys first date at the dump?" Sans reminded them.

"Uhh, yeah. But it was a really romantic trip to the dump!" Alphys defended.

"Then we can have a really romantic trip to Grillby's." Sans replied.

"GREASE ISN'T ROMANTIC."

"That depends on your definition of romance."

He knew he liked her for a reason.

"Come on guys, it'll be fun." Alphys insisted. "Me and you can go dress shopping Frisk, and Sans can get all cleaned up, it'll be great."

"Define 'cleaned up'." Sans asked, offended. Did he not shower often enough or something?

"Well, they do have a dress code." Alphys explained. "It is their biggest event of the year."

"I have never seen you in a suit, Sans." Frisk said, a bit of a blush on her cheeks.

"Not you too, Frisk. I haven't even seen me in a suit."

"I'm kidding. That's really a bit too much, guys." She paused. "But.."

"Do you really want to go, Frisk?" Sans asked.

"Maybe?" She replied uncertainly. "It's just, we won't have a lot of chances to go to fancy events once baby bones get here.." She paused. "But we really don't have to."

"No, if you want to go we can. Even if thing one and two over there probably planned this."

Undyne and Alphys were uncharacteristically silent.

"Thought so." He said. "Anyway. I can probably put up with a suit for a few hours for you."

"What a romantic way to ask a princess out." She teased.

* * *

They had been home for five minutes and Papyrus already wanted take him shopping.

"Papyrus. Papyrus please." Sans begged. His brother was already looking up formal stores and chattering about ties and flowers.

"YOU DON'T SEEM AS THOUROUGHLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AS YOU SHOULD BE."

Judging by the way Pap got excited about things, Sans should have been bubbling over with anticipation months ago. "It's not for another week or so, Paps. I can't pick out my stuff until Frisk does hers anyway, we should probably match."

"FRISK ISN'T GOING DRESS SHOPPING UNTIL THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. HOW WILL I - I MEAN - HOW WILL YOU LIVE WITH THE ANTICIPATION?"

"Well, you could join me on the couch here and watch some TV. I think there's a baking marathon on." Sans patted the seat beside him. He wasn't one for cooking shows himself, but they were a necessary evil with Frisk and Papyrus around.

"IS IT THE NEW YEARS MARATHON?" Papyrus asked, looking like he was about to sit down. "WAIT. NEW YEARS IS ONLY THREE DAYS AWAY! SANS! WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR NEW YEARS?"

"The same thing we do every year, eat way too much food and watch the countdown on TV." While Sans always let Papyrus over-decorate and overbake for Gyftmas, he always insisted they have a quiet New Years.

"WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING SPECIAL THIS YEAR! NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE A BIG ONE, AFTER ALL."

"We could order food instead of making it. Pizza sounds good, maybe some cinnamon sticks."

"SANS!"

He was saved from further negotiations by Frisk calling him. "I know you're madly in love with me, but this is getting a little ridiculous." He teased upon answering the phone, stepping into the kitchen to allow Papyrus to watch the bake off and consider New Year's plans.

"I know, I just can't stay away to the point that my car won't let me drive away from you. Looks like you'll have to do the noble thing and come rescue me."

He sighed dramatically. "Being a knight in shining armor doesn't pay very well, you know."

"What, a kiss on the cheek from your fair lady isn't good enough for you?"

"Well. It doesn't pay the bills. Where are you?"

"Muffets, Mom asked me to pick up some donuts on the way home and old reliable doesn't want to start again in the cold. I'd call mom but you know how she is."

"You really need a new car." He said, grabbing his keys off the counter.

"I know. But I love this one."

"Even with the tiny trunk and the tendency to seize up in the cold?"

"It has character."

"Frisk."

"I know." She sighed. "I'll look into a new car, okay? Dads been bugging me about it, too. Just. Not immediately. I still have to deal with my college not wanting me to drop out and job hunting and not to mention the literal fuckton of baby stuff I have to prepare for and -" She sounded like she was either about to panic or cry.

"Frisk? Hey. One thing at a time, alright?" He said softly.

"I know. I'm sorry. There's just a lot that I've been putting off and it feels like it's all going to hit me at once."

"I know, it is a lot, but you're not doing this alone, okay? I'll be there in a few, we'll drink some cider and try to work some of this out, okay?"

"You hate spider cider." She sniffled.

"I do, but I try not to let Muffet know that."

* * *

Having called for a tow truck, he and Frisk settled into a table facing the window, hot cider steaming as they watched the snow fall. It was sort-of romantic, if you ignored the spider webs everywhere.

Sans had to admit though, Muffet's café did have a certain charm, even if it wasn't Grillby's.

He stretched, using the excuse to put his arm on the back of Frisk's chair.

"Thanks for coming to rescue me." Frisk said, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't going to leave you at the mercy of Muffet."

Frisk rolled her eyes. "She's harmless."

"Harmless as a fly, you might say?"

"Oh my god." She snickered into her cider. The mug was decorated with a purple web print.

"So, I've been thinking."

"Does it involve more spider jokes, cause I'm pretty sure any more is racially insensitive."

"No, I'm being serious. Which isn't very often, I know."

"I'm sorry, go ahead."

He kissed the side of her head. "I thought about what you were saying on the way over here, and we don't have to do everything at once, but I know the embassy puts on classes and they have one for new parents starting up soon, and there's usually after Gyftmas sales at the mall so maybe after our friends are done playing dress up with us we could check out the baby stores? There's at least three on the top floor and -" He was rambling a little, but he just wanted to help make everything okay.

"Sans."

"I know, I'm probably trying to do too much at once and -"

"No, those are perfect ideas. You're amazing." She pulled him in for a kiss.

"I mean, I'm alright.."

She kissed him again.

"There's been better-"

"Sans."

"You can't blame me for trying."

She shook her head. "Are you really willing to do parenting classes with me?"

"Well, we should probably know what we're doing. Babysitting is one thing but. I've never even changed a diaper."

"Neither have I. But we'll figure it out, right?"

"We always do." He replied, pulling her in for another kiss.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, and as always, please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrso,**

 **TigerLily**


	21. More Adventures in Noodles, Part One

Chapter Twenty-One - More Adventures in Noodles, Part One

Frisk was curled up on the couch with her laptop, half-heartedly looking through job openings - there had been nothing new posted in the last few days and she was starting to get frustrated. Of course, the problem with a city where seldom grew old is that seldom jobs became open, especially the kind preferable for a pregnant college drop-out.

The job Grillby had offered her when she was still unsure about whether she was going to college at all was still open, but waitressing while pregnant didn't seem like her best option. Unfortunately, most jobs in her skill range weren't preferable while pregnant.

She sighed heavily, shutting her laptop with an unsatisfying click.

"Would you like some cookies, Frisk?" Her mother called from the kitchen, where she was baking for some charity bake sale or another.

"No thanks." She called back, while usually not one to refuse a fresh baked cookie, her stomach had been upset all afternoon and she didn't want to risk it.

"Would you mind taking some out to your father?" Her mother asked, appearing in the doorway with a tray of cookies and milk - oatmeal raisin from the look of them. "He's out in the greenhouse."

"A busy day ruling the kingdom for both of you, I see." She teased, getting up to take the tray from her mother. The bottom of it was warm.

"Since we are still waiting on permission from the human government to expand our city to the east, and there's no petitions to considered this week, we decided a day off was in order." Her mother replied, not chastising, but in a way that reminded Frisk of exactly how hard her parents worked, even if she didn't always see it.

"I know Momma, you're a queen and a saint." She replied, kissing her fluffy cheek before carefully setting the tray on the coffee table so she could put on her coat and shoes.

Her father was repotting seedling - more golden flowers, unless he had finally taken her suggestion to branch out - when she entered the greenhouse, nearly spilling the glass of milk as she maneuvered through the door. "Special delivery." She said, getting his attention as she set the tray down on the table least covered in dirt. Which was still a lot of dirt.

"I see your mother is as bad at taking the day off as I am." He said, taking off his gloves and wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. "Are these raisin or chocolate chip?"

"She didn't say. I wouldn't bet on chocolate though, you know how she tries to sneak more fruit into our diet."

He broke a cookie in half and inspected it. "Hmm." He murmured upon taking a bite.

"What's your expert opinion? Are they safe for consumption?"

"They appear to be a chocolate dipped fruit of some sort. I'm not sure if it's safe for humans. I had better eat all of these to keep you safe."

She rolled her eyes. "You're truly selfless. I'm surrounded by such noble souls."

He chuckled, taking a sip of milk. "No easy task, let me assure you."

"Can I repay your sacrifice in any way? Are there some wily seedlings I could repot?" While golden flowers still made her uneasy, she could never find the words to explain that to her father.

"I wouldn't mind the help. I may have started too many seeds again and don't have the heart to cull any."

"There's no such thing as too many flowers." She said, parroting one of his own lines.

After he finished his cookies, they worked in silence for some time. While Frisk was a bit rusty at the repotting process - she hadn't helped him garden in far too long - she appreciated the familiar, peaceful work. Maybe there was a plant nursery in need of her unsteady hands.

"These don't look like normal seedlings. Are you trying your hand at a new strain again?"

"These are Nasturtiums, I believe. Your mother bought the seeds for me, I think she finds them pretty."

"Can I put in a request for some Chrysanthemums? I want to annoy my roommate with them." Sharing a name with the flower, she had tried to insist upon being called by her full name. Naturally, Frisk had delegated to call her Em.

"Perhaps one thing at a time. This old dog isn't keen on new tricks."

"Come on dad, it's a new year."

"Not quite." He said softly, bracing a weak seedling with a small wooden stick. It amazed her sometimes how gentle he could be with plants and well, anything really.

They were quiet again for some time, before he broke the silence. "I had been waiting to bring this up when your mother wasn't around, but I hear you had been having trouble with your car?"

"Yeah.. I mean. It's probably just a battery issue? She'll be fine once winter is over." Frisk loved her car perhaps a bit too much, but she had insisted upon buying it herself, selling magazine subscriptions over the phone for two summers to pay for it.

"Doesn't it have a cooling issue in the summer?"

"I got that fixed. Mostly." She paused. Alphys had tried, at least, but cars were not her forte. "To be honest, I've been thinking about getting a new one as soon as I find a job."

"You'll need a reliable vehicle to get you to work in the meantime, will you not?"

She sighed, nearly decapitating the seedling in her hands. "I can figure it out in the meantime, plus I have most of my tuition dispersement saved." She had received far more financial aid than she needed, and it was currently padding her savings account. "It shouldn't be too long before I have a new old faithful on the streets." Her car was originally christened Betsy, but after a year of driving it, she had discovered its true name.

"May I make a suggestion?" Her father asked, gently taking the nearly mangled seedling from her careless fingers.

"Not if it involved buying me a new car." She wasn't quite sure why supplying her own wheels was the hill she was willing to die on, but she didn't want her parents to supply everything because they could. Well, that and if she bought her own car, her mother couldn't ground her from it.

"I was worried you'd feel that way. But. I believe we once made a deal about special occasions."

Her father, the diplomat.

"I seem to recall some sort of gift giving clause.." She murmured, focusing her attentions on filling another pot with soil.

"I, that is, your mother and I, wanted to give you something to help with the new life you're starting. Perhaps a baby shower gift, of sorts? To put a title to it."

"You already have a car picked out, don't you?"

"I may have done a little research, but if you find one you would prefer, I just ask that it have airbags."

"Here I was hoping that I could get you to buy me another Gremlin. I saw a blue one while I was in college." Her own was an odd shade of green that she had grown attached to.

"How about a nice Volkswagon? I think the beetles are very cute."

"Do you really want to try and teach me to drive stick again?" Her father's first vehicle on the surface had been a manual transmission truck - one of the few vehicles he could fit in - and while he had never given automatic transmissions another thought, Frisk on the other hand, was not as quick to learn.

"Ah. Well. Perhaps not." He said delicately. "Perhaps Sans could help you in your decision. Or Papyrus, I remember he was always chattering about what kind of car he wanted to have here on the surface."

Frisk remembered Papyrus' short lived love affair with his red convertible. She thought Sans was never going to let him drive again after his wreck. "Maybe I'll see what Alphys has to say."

* * *

"Wait, you're actually letting your parents buy you a car?" Alphys asked in disbelief as they were looking for parking.

"Dad invoked the special occasion clause, he was going on about the new life I was starting, it was moving, okay?"

"He is the king for a reason."

"Yeah, I was doomed from the start - watch out Alph, that kid isn't paying attention."

"I see them." She replied, slowing down a bit more. "How can you even tell which humans are kids or not? They're all different sizes and they never wear stripes."

"Because they look like kids? They're like, miniature humans. We're all pretty similar."

"But then t-there's the tall kids and the short adults. How can you be sure?"

"Because our culture evolved to not need striped clothing to delegate what is a child or not? I'm not sure." It was true that the stripes really helped when it came to monsters, since they varied so much in appearance.

"You're the history expert." She replied, swinging the car into an open spot. Frisk didn't have much room on her side to get out, but she could probably manage.

"Hardly. I don't even have a degree, _Doctor_."

"That can be arranged."

"You're not hacking my university to give me a degree." She had offered when Frisk was upset over failing her first test.

"It would be so easy though! Their security is so lax. No one would be the wiser."

"Alphys."

"One day you're going to need my hacking skills and I'm not going to help because you never let me have any fun."

"Keep telling yourself that." Frisk countered, opening the door carefully as not to ding the imposing black SUV parked next to them.

"Did I not give you enough space to get out again? I'm sorry -"

"It's cool, I'm not a blimp yet."

"You won't be a blimp."

"Mhm." She replied noncommittedly, sliding out of the car.

"So, what's the plan of attack?" She asked her yellow best friend as they walked towards the mall. She doubted they would find anything black tie affair ready there, but the food court had the noodle place she liked and it was as good of a place to start as any.

"Well, the bridal shop has prom dresses and things, and I'm sure one of the bigger clothing stores has some things worth looking at."

Frisk wasn't too keen on the bridal shop, but Alphys had a point.

The problem, which was the problem every time she and Alphys went shopping, was that she and Alphys had wildly different views on fashion and, well, modesty.

"Absolutely not." Frisk shook her head, not even willing to consider the dress Alphys was trying to show her.

"It's cute! And it's blue. Blue is your color."

"I don't even think it's in my size. How will I breathe?" Secondly, what was keeping it on her? She hadn't had good luck with strapless dresses in the past.

"Who needs to breathe when you look fantastic?" Someone had been talking to Mettaton again. "And you're a size fourteen, right?" She asked, checking the tag.

"I was before the freshman fifteen. Er, twenty in my case."

"You're pregnant, it doesn't count."

"The twenty was before that. It's fine. Breathing room is a necessity, okay?"

"Humans are so inefficient, you know that?"

"We can't all run on magic and bad fanfiction." Frisk replied, inspecting a dress that looked promising. Or not.

"We still need to finish the one we were writing, the Madoka / Pokemon / SAO crossover."

"Oh my god, I forgot all about that, our fans need to know if Kirito is ever going to be the very best." She paused. "Like no one ever was."

"Frisk.."

"To catch them is his real test, to train them is his cause -"

"Frisk please."

She pulled Alphys close to her and starting singing as soulfully as she could. Soon, she and Alphys were belting the Pokémon theme song. In the middle of the dress section.

"You're the w-worst. The actual worst, you know that?" Alphys complained, her cheeks a deep orange when she realized that people had noticed their impromptu concert.

"Here I was thinking that title was reserved for Sans." Frisk replied, leaving her blushing friend to go pass judgement on a new section of dresses.

Alphys scampered after her. "Okay but you're l-like incubating his progeny, so it has to be wearing off on you."

" _Incubating his progeny_? Okay Alph, that's enough internet for you."

"There isn't a good phrase for having a kid with someone. It's just weird."

"I thoroughly appreciate your ability to take something moderately weird and dial it all the way up." But not to eleven. Eleven was reserved for Papyrus.

Alphys groaned.

"I'm kidding. Hey. What about this one?" She showed the dress to Alphys. Black and silver, some poof but plenty of breathing room. Minimal sequins.

Alphys looked unimpressed.

"Come on, what's wrong with it?"

"It's boring."

"It's got like, three layers of - what is it called - tulle? Its super poofy. Poofy isn't boring."

"It's a boring poofy."

Frisk sighed, putting it back on the rack.

* * *

They took a break from dress shopping to see what Hot Topic had to offer, the BOGO sale drawing the both of them in.

It took approximately ten seconds before Frisk noticed the dress with a sequined rib cage pattern. It was another five minutes before she decided to point it out to Alphys, not wanting to admit it was the first thing she had noticed.

"I've found it. The perfect dress." Frisk said convincingly, holding it behind her back as Alphys was looking for inaccuracies in the pop figures.

"You did?" Alphys turned around, surprised.

"Behold!" She brandished it proudly.

"That's absolutely horrible." She snickered.

"I think my closet needs this."

"Oh my god. Just. Not for the date, okay?"

"Oh no, I'm going to look so great for that. This is payback for all the skeleton jokes."

"This is why we're friends."

"Skeleton dresses?"

"Among other things."

* * *

"Can I ask you a weird question?" Frisk said from the dressing room. She had finally caved to the idea of the bridal shop, and other than Alphys looking sad but also somewhat wistfully at the wedding dresses, they had managed to find a couple of formal dress options they could agree on. Assuming one of them fit, anyway.

"Uh, sure?" Alphys replied, from her seat on the bench outside her room.

"So, if you and Undyne were to hypothetically have your football team of mini Undynes -"

" _Frisk_.." Alphys whined.

Okay, maybe it wasn't the best time to bring it up. But she was curious.

"This is thoroughly hypothetical. Look at it like the scientist you are, Alph."

Alphys sighed heavily. "Alright. What about this hypothetical team of scientists?"

"Football players. You're the scientist." Her voice was a bit muffled by pulling off her sweater.

"I heard you the first time. Baby scientists."

"Alright. Well, do baby scientists hatch or do they get incubated like my progeny?"

"I'm not sure. It might depend on who is doing the um. Incubation in question? Cause I hatched but Undyne.." She paused.

"What, was she birthed by the fire of her own determination or something?" She was imagining the Birth of Venus, clamshell and all, except with more fire and spears.

"I thought that was you." She paused. "I think Undyne hatched in a way? Her family is like seahorses."

"I need help." She had managed to pin her arms to her sides while trying to wriggle into the dress.

"It's not that funny."

"No, like, I'm stuck."

"Oh." Alphys stepped in, immediately starting to laugh at her situation.

"It's not that bad."

"You look like the time Kyube got stuck in the arm of my sweater." She snickered.

"I'm not a fat cat in a sweater."

"I showed you the photo. The facial expression is the same."

Frisk groaned. "No flash photography, just rescue me, please?"

Somehow, Alphys managed to tug the dress off of her.

"Okay so that's one down, one to go." Alphys said, a little out of breath. "Cute bra, by the way." It had green polka dots.

"Thanks, my mom picked it out."

"I bet you tell all the boys that."

"You'd be surprised." She replied, shooing Alphys out so she could try on the second dress.

"Well?" Alphys asked hopefully, less than ten seconds after she had closed the door.

"I haven't mastered faster than light travel yet, Alph."

"Unlike your warp factor ten boyfriend."

"He's not the enterprise." None of them were quite sure how he did the teleporting thing, and he wasn't offering any answers.

"Can I ask you a weird question?"

Coming from Frisk, it was a reasonable request. From Alphys. Well. "Sure."

"Does the hyper speed or whatever it is come to play in the bedroom?" She snickered.

"Oh my god." Frisk let the dress she was pulling up fall to her feet so she could face palm effectively. "Alphys. For the love of -. Okay, for one, we've been together like. A week, maybe? So there is no 'in the bedroom' to speak of. Secondly, how long have you been holding on to that question?"

"Well, Undyne and me were never sure if you two didn't have a friends with benefits situation going on -"

"Alphys, where along the lines did my two years of whining about a crush I thought was unrequited translate to sleeping together to you?" Frisk asked, putting her arms through the lace sleeves.

"You'd be surprised. I read this story once where -"

Frisk managed to focus her scream of frustration into a sigh. "We weren't, okay? My first time was in college, I would have told you otherwise."

"You didn't even tell me about that until you were already pregnant."

"I know but. I didn't want to like. Call you and be like. Guess who got drunk and lost her virginity! You know?"

"That makes sense. B-but I thought you could trust me with something like that."

Frisk sat down on the small bench inside the dressing room, staring up at the white tile and lights on the ceiling. "It's not a trust thing Alphys. It was. I was embarrassed? I didn't want anyone to know at all. I'm sorry."

She wasn't going to cry over this. Not today.

"I understand. I d-did some ridiculous things while studying for my masters."

"Like getting pregnant?"

"Not exactly."

"That explains why you don't know if scientists hatch."

Alphys giggled. "Do you have that dress on yet?"

"I might need some help with the zipper."

It took a bit more than a tug at the end, but it fit. It was snug in places, but she wasn't going to gain that much weight in the next week.

"You look amazing." Alphys said, once they had all the ruffles sorted and the wrinkles smoothed.

She looked in the mirror. Her stomach stuck out a bit - it always did. But there was a pleasant roundness to it that she liked. She placed her hand on her stomach, admiring her currently nonexistent glow.

"Hey Frisk?" Alphys said softly.

"What's up?"

"Well. While you're admiring your baby bump. I-I just wanted to let you know that I'm really happy about you and Sans and baby bones and. Everything. In case you didn't know." She paused. "Even if you banged a cute jock and didn't tell me."

"More like frat boys. For the record. But thanks, Alph. I'll be sure to tell you the next time I get laid."

"Please don't, because it will be with Sans and I want to be able to look him in the eyes - eyesockets - whatever he has. I just don't want to know what he's like in bed, okay?"

"First of all, you're a liar, because you probably need this information for the weird fanfic you're writing about us. Secondly, if I can still look you and Undyne in the eyes, fair is fair."

Alphys sighed. " _Fine_."

"I'm going to send you a text immediately after, so you know I'm still naked and sweaty, okay?"

"We are no longer friends."

"Yeah, sure. Want to get noodles?"

"Isn't that the whole reason we picked this mall?"

* * *

 **First of all, it's halloweentober, so please l** **et me know in the reviews what you're going to be for Halloween. I think I'm going to reuse my awesome Poison Ivy cosplay, personally:)**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and as always, please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **purrs,**

 **TigerLily**


	22. Heroes and Lightweights

**AN:Thanks to everyone that told me about their Halloween adventures in the last chapter, my siblings ended up talking me into being Undertale characters and I handmade some neat costumes (I was Sans, of course). This chapter was supposed to be done for Halloween/Thanksgiving but the it ended up giving me a bit of trouble, but I'm pretty happy with what I have here so I hope you all enjoy it :)**

 **Also, shameless plug for the fic I'm beta-ing, Fragment I.D. by** **Iris Zerathine Black is shaping up to be a fantastic read, so you should head over and give her some love when you're done here. I'll include a link in my author page as well :)**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two - Heroes and Lightweights

Judging by how dark it was in his room still, it was very early when Undyne woke him up. Having forgone decency, she had barged in, aggressively shaking him awake.

"There had better be an emergency." He threatened groggily.

"Alphys would call it a fashion emergency." Undyne replied. "But she watches too much of Mettaton's modeling show."

Sans groaned. "Why are you waking me for a fashion emergency?"

"We're going suit shopping today, don't tell me you've forgotten already."

"I thought we were going after Frisk's appointment."

"We were, but Alphys needs help with an experiment, so it's an early shopping adventure!"

"Undyne, I worked all night. 'M tired."

"I thought you'd say that, but I came prepared!" She thrust a giant cup of hot coffee into his hands.

He sat up carefully, groggily staring at the cup that was radiating heat into his phalanges. He even almost took a sip. "What's in this?"

"Coffee."

"What else?"

"Four sugars, French vanilla creamer, and two shots of expresso."

"And?"

"Whipped cream."

He gave her a look.

"Also a six hour power. Let's go!"

He decided to consider himself lucky that she had only put one in it, last time she had tried to take him on an 'adventure' with no sleep, his coffee was half energy shots, half expresso. "Fine. Just get out so I can get dressed."

She obliged, but also knocked on the door every thirty seconds to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep again. In response, he decided to take as long as possible.

He took a sip of the coffee while he rummaged through his sock drawer for a matching pair. The whipped cream was a nice touch.

"Sans! Are you taking forever on purpose?" She called indignantly as Sans was pulling on a pair of jeans.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He called back, taking another drink of his coffee. He felt a crackle in his spine as the caffeine started doing it's work.

After a short argument about who would be driving - he eventually gave in as he realized he was not in any state to drive - finishing the whole drink in the half an hour it had taken him to get dressed had him a little too jumpy to be behind the wheel.

Undyne drove a bright red hummer, and it's radio had one setting - loud. Of course, he was too awake to mind, singing along with Undyne as they cruised the quiet streets. Maybe it was the caffeine talking, but he had nearly forgotten how much he actually enjoyed hanging out with Undyne. They did have their differences, but most of it was just pedantic spear-measuring anyway.

Most of the stores in the mall were still opening when they arrived, and so Sans busied himself with getting a pretzel, giving little regard to Undyne saying she'd be right back until he noticed she was making a beeline for the jewelry store.

Not today.

Pretzel in hand, he barely remembered to get his change from the cashier before appearing in front of Undyne. She jumped in surprise, making Sans grin. He hadn't been able to startle her like that in a while.

"It is too early for your space and time bullshit."

"It's also too early for the jewelry store. What are you even doing?"

"Um. Definitely not returning the ring I bought Alphys."

Of course. "Have you even talked to her about it?"

She deflated a bit. "It just seems easier to forget about it." She started walking towards the store again.

"Is that what you want?"

"It doesn't matter what I want, she doesn't want to marry me, so it's better if we just -" She paused. "It is too early for emotions. Mornings are for action!" She stomped her foot for emphasis.

"How do you know she doesn't want to?"

"Because she said no! Well. She said she had to go to the bathroom. And then she fell."

"That doesn't sound a no to me."

"It's not a yes, either. I just want rid of it."

"Let me hold onto it for you then. Until you talk to her about it." He offered.

"I don't think she wants to talk about it. She hasn't even brought it up, and she always brings up what she wants to talk about. Even stressful stuff, like who's turn it is to make the bed."

"Marriage is a little bigger than household chores."

"I know. Which is why I probably should have - I don't know. You didn't even want me to buy the ring in the first place! Why do you care?"

He shrugged. "Frisk seems invested in you two getting married, so I guess I am too."

They were standing outside the jewelry store now, Undyne looking uncertainly inside. "Fine." She pulled the ring box out of her pocket and handed it to Sans. "Just keep it safe, okay? Don't get ketchup or anything on it."

"Do I look like the kind of person who would get ketchup on something that important?" he replied, pocketing it.

"You do. But I trust you." She glanced inside the store again. "Hey, while we're here-"

"No."

"Just humor me for a moment."

"I thought humor was my job."

* * *

Sans collapsed in his bed upon his return from the mall. His caffeine high had worn off hours ago and after that last argument about tie colors, he deserved to sleep for a year.

He only had two hours before Frisk's appointment, but it was a start.

He was awoken some period of time later by a knock on his door, rather than his alarm. He drowsily slurred something along the lines of "Come in."

"Hey sleepy head." Frisk teased, sitting on the side of his bed.

"Is it time to go?" He asked. What time was it?

"You're a bit late for that."

He sat up, more awake now. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, mom let me borrow the van. By the way, I definitely don't want my new vehicle to be a van."

"Where's your sense of adventure? We could take out the seats in the back and put in some shag carpeting."

"We could also adopt a dog and call it the Mystery Machine, but that doesn't change the fact I can't park it."

"Was it better or worse than the first time Undyne tried parallel parking?"

"I didn't crush any other vehicles in my wake, so I'll have to say worse."

"I'm disappointed." He teased, pulling her closer to him. "How did the appointment go?"

"We're not quite out of the woods with the determination problem, but they seem to be developing well." She paused. "Oh! I have ultrasound photos, I almost forgot." She pulled them out of the pocket of her hoodie. "Look, we think that's a foot." She pointed to a shape near the bottom of the blob of blue that was slightly darker than he remembered. There was change from last time, the shape seeming to be stretching into something humanoid. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited.

"Sans, are you listening?" She asked, pausing in the middle of pointing out potential body parts to look at him.

"Of course, I'm just holding out for wings, that's all."

She rolled her eyes. "That last thing we need is wings. How are we going to be able to put them down for a nap if they can fly out of their crib?"

"If they're anything like me, that won't be a problem."

"That's what I'm actually worried about." She teased, pressing a kiss to his cheekbone. "Did you get your shopping done with Undyne today, or did you sleep through that too?"

He glanced over at the pile of shopping bags in the corner. He needed to hang his suit up so it didn't get more wrinkled than it probably already was. "That's the reason I slept through your appointment, we got to the mall as it was opening."

"Did she put energy shots in your coffee again?"

"Just one."

"Lightweight."

"Um, I happen to remember the last time you went early shopping with Undyne, you both got in trouble for swimming in the mall fountain."

"First of all, it was Undyne's idea. Secondly, there miiight have been whiskey involved instead of energy shots."

He hadn't heard that part of the story before. "Frisk, I'm appalled." He said with mock outrage. "Drinking underage?"

"It was cinnamon whiskey, I'm weak." She replied, snuggling closer to him and stealing the blanket.

"And to think I trusted you to go shopping alone." He teased, pulling the blanket more to his side. "I thought you were a lady of morals."

"Okay, mom."

"Hmm, the only mom I see is you." He pressed a kiss to her cheek with a grin.

Her cheeks flushed a bright crimson. "Sans." She replied, flustered. "You-"

"Yes?"

"I - we - we're going to be parents." The warmth from her cheeks was probably enough to cook a marshmallow on. "And I do dumb things like swim in mall fountains."

"That was like, months ago. You've at least graduated up to pooping in display toilets."

"I'm not quite on your level-"

"That photo was a joke, for the record." He defended.

"You still got kicked out of the hardware store."

"They're under new management now, it's fine."

"We're such a mess."

"We're figuring it out." He replied. "Even baby bones is figuring it out, maybe they won't look like me after all. Check out that foot." He curled his hands around Frisk's, lowering them gently to her lap.

"It's a very nice foot. We think. It could also be a hand, depending on the direction they're laying but-"

"Just let it be a foot for now. It's okay."

She nodded softly, before nuzzling her head into his neck.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked, his thumb tracing circles on the skin between her thumb and index finger.

"Nothing in particular, appointments make me anxious and it's just catching up to me."

"Did the doctor say anything in particular?"

"No, they're doing really good actually."

"Nothing to worry about then." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

She murmured something to the affirmative.

"Are we still on for shopping after D-day?" He asked. They had taken to calling it that due to the way Undyne and Alphys were treating it. It was just a date, after all.

"Baby shopping after our first date, that's a little forward, don't you think?" She teased.

"Maybe I'm just optimistic - you know, glass, er, womb half full kind of thing."

She picked one of the photos back up. "I think that's more than half full."

"See, and if we're going shopping the day after, you might as well stay over that night."

"We'll see." Her smile letting him know she had already considered it. "Oh, before I forget, Undyne and Papyrus asked me to convince you that we should go to the New Year's celebration in the park tomorrow."

He groaned. "It's going to be so cold."

"It may have escaped you, but it's currently winter."

"It's at night though."

"There's a wonderful thing called electricity, it powers these things called lights and heaters."

"Okay, but hear me out, there's going to be other monsters there."

"And humans too, imagine the horror." She teased.

"Exactly. And why should we risk all that when we can just curl up, warm on the couch, and watch the ball drop in -" He paused, trying to remember the city. "It starts with new just like -"

"New York?"

"Right. They seem to have their act together, there's fireworks and everything."

"Come on Sans, it'll be fun."

"We seem to have different definitions of fun, how about we take a moment to discuss that."

* * *

It wasn't even an hour after everyone left for the New Year's celebration that Sans started to wish he had decided to attend. Watching the celebration of a completely different city, alone, even if it was in the warmth of his own house was rather, well, sad.

He tried to ignore the feeling. He popped popcorn and poured a shameful amount of Reese's Pieces in it. He even put on his snuggie and considered pouring rum in his hot chocolate (he decided against it, after some consideration). All things considered, it should feel like a good evening, the house was quiet and he could finally relax after all the stress of the holidays.

He was finally getting restless enough to consider swallowing his pride and hatred of the cold (the magic chill of Snowdin was nothing compared to the bitter winds topside, he had found) and join his friends, when there was a knock on the door, followed by the sound of it being kicked open and Alphys hissing at her girlfriend to stop kicking doors open.

"Back already?" He called as he walked into the kitchen to meet them, not at all ashamed of his snuggie-clad self.

"They had an early countdown for the kids and Paps fell for it." Frisk explained, following behind Undyne who was carrying the snoring Papyrus.

"Are you guys going back then?" He asked as Undyne carried Papyrus up to bed, ashamed of how excited he was for the excuse to return with them.

"We were actually thinking of going to the bar." Alphys replied sheepishly.

Without exactly meaning to, he gave Frisk a concerned look.

"They need a designated driver." She explained. "I've been promised all the mozzarella sticks I can eat."

"That hardly sounds like the fair trade, Alph doesn't even drink." He teased.

"I do sometimes! I had a margarita at Undyne's family Christmas party."

"Getting crazy over there, I don't know if my girl can handle you and Undyne both."

"It probably won't be as crazy as your night has been." Undyne cackled from behind him. "You sat on something brown, by the way."

Maybe he should have cleaned off the couch after spilling his bowl of popcorn. "Reese's Pieces, sitting on them is pivotal to a successful night."

"Whatever floats your weird bony boat."

"Bone doesn't float, actually, they're too dense." Alphys piped up.

"So you're saying I wouldn't even need concrete shoes if I got in trouble with the mob?"

"The mob is a real danger here, icing skeletons left and right." Frisk teased.

"I'm ready for a drink before you all get weird, come on nerds." Undyne announced, already heading for the door.

Frisk pressed a kiss to his cheekbone. "Try not to get mob murdered tonight." She teased.

"I'm sure I have some favors I can call in to save my skin - er. Maybe it's a bit too late for that."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you want to go with us?"

While Sans wasn't usually too keen on drinking with Undyne, he felt like he could make an exception. It was New Year's, after all. "Sure, just give me a minute to put pants on."

"Are you not wearing pants under that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He winked.

"You are not flirting with me while wearing a chocolate stained snuggie. Go get dressed." She replied, pushing him into the hall.

"Why not?"

"Because I have standards."

"What are those?"

After getting dressed enough to appease Frisk's humble sensibilities, and leaving a series of notes so Papyrus would know where he was (one note didn't always get noticed, he had found), the two of them piled in the back of Alphys tiny blue Civic.

As usual, he didn't have much leg room.

"Do you want to switch me spots, Frisk? I'm stuck behind Captain Long Legs again."

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound all this space I have over here." Frisk stretched in her seat, with Alphys scooted up as close to the wheel as possible, she had room to spare.

"What was that Sans, you need leg room?" Undyne replied, scooting her seat back. "Ahh, plenty of leg room up here."

"Remember the car rules, guys." Alphys chided from the driver's seat.

"Shotgun picks the station, driver picks the volume?" Undyne replied.

"Yes, but that's not the one I meant."

"No curry before a road trip." Frisk offered. "I haven't had curry since trying all the restaurants close to my dorm, don't worry."

"I believe it was the leg room clause? Put in place during the Sylvia convention of last year." Sans reminded them, giving a kick to the back of Undyne's seat for emphasis. If she pushed her seat any further back it would pin his legs and he was not going on another trip like that.

"I think I need a refresher course.." Undyne replied, pushing her seat back as far as it could go without completely crushing him.

"I think you're heading into war crime territory, Undyne." Frisk said, noticing Sans' discomfort.

"You have committed crimes against Slyvia and her passengers, and for that you must give up shotgun." Alphys intoned.

"Dibs." Frisk said, opening her door almost before Alphys could finish her judgement.

"Hey, I'm the one being war crimed against. Don't we put this to a vote?" He complained as Undyne and Frisk switched places. Honestly he wasn't sure if being crushed by the seat was any worse than being within reach of Undyne post-trial.

"The dibs gets it." Undyne said, buckling her seatbelt. "Now are we getting this show on the road or not?"

"We never decided if we were going to the Hotland Hideaway or Grillby's." Frisk replied, moving her seat forward.

"Grillby's is closed for the week, he's visiting family out of town." Sans informed them.

"Giant drinks it is! Heck yeah." Undyne cheered. The hideaway was her favorite bar for the fact that it had fishbowl sized drinks, usually margaritas, but Undyne was partial to whiskey.

Alphys sighed as she put the car into reverse.

"So, are you actually going to drink this time?" Undyne asked Sans once they were on the road.

"I might have one." He replied noncommittedly. The last thing he wanted to do was make a mess of himself and make Frisk take care of all three of them.

"You always say that, and I haven't seen you drink in years."

"Not true." He defended. "I had jell-o shots at your birthday last year."

"Lightweight." Frisk teased.

"There's a mirror in your visor babe, you might want to take a look in it first."

"Frisk can hold her whiskey, she's a warrior!" Undyne all but shouted

"Yeah, I heard about the fountain in the mall." He replied.

"That was ages ago." Undyne laughed. "Remember the last girl's night we had, right before you left for freshman orientation?"

"Do you mean the literal night before you two drove me up to orientation, so I had a hangover the whole way because you're both assholes?"

"We got you Gatorade and McDonald's." Alphys defended, pulling into the parking lot.

"It doesn't change the fact that I met my orientation group looking like a washed up fraternity recruit."

"It was to teach you a lesson." Undyne insisted. Sans wasn't sure what lesson that could be, other than to never drink with Undyne and Alphys. Something he had learned very early on, even if that's exactly what he was doing tonight.

"What lesson was that? Never let someone who drinks whiskey from a fishbowl mix your drinks?"

"No, it was know your limits." Undyne replied proudly.

"I know my limits! You were the one insisting that we take even more shots when all I wanted was to cuddle with Kyube on the floor."

"You were crying over him, I felt bad." Alphys admitted. Having found no open spots in the lot, she was attempting to parallel park. It wasn't her strong suit.

"I just wanted to touch his tummy fluff and all he wanted to do was claw me."

"Tum fluff is not for touches." Alphys said, turning the car off, and handing Frisk the keys.

"That's a lesson I refuse to learn." Frisk replied, dutifully sticking the keys in her pocket. "Anyway, onwards to mozzy sticks?"

Undyne, of course, was way ahead of them, already across the street and waiting for them on the other side.

The place was busy, but they managed to get a table near the back. Across the bar a band was warming up.

"Wait, is that MK?" Undyne asked, also noticing the band. MK, or at least, a monster that looked a lot like him, was scooting a cymbal stand into place.

"I think I remember him posting about his band getting a New Year's gig." Frisk replied. "They're called Spare Heroes, I think?"

"Where did they get that name?" Alphys asked, scanning the drink menu. Sans was certain she was just going to get a mojito, like always, but she could surprise him.

"Are y'all ready to order?" Their tall, human waitress asked. There was a pencil stuck behind her ear in addition to the one in her hand.

There were quick glances and nods around the table as they decided they were.

"Do you still have the fishbowl margaritas?" Undyne asked.

"We do, what flavor would you like?"

"Can I have a Manhattan in one instead?"

"Hey look, they have them on the menu now." Alphys said, pointing to a line on the cocktail menu.

"They're called Leaping a Tall Building in a Single Bound." The waitress said. Her nametag which had previously been covered from his view by her notepad, read Maribelle.

"Hero cocktails, that's neat." Frisk said, leaning over to look at Sans' menu.

"Are you feeling up the challenge?" Maribelle asked, looking at Frisk.

"No thanks, I'm the designated driver. Unless you have hero sized orders of mozzarella sticks."

"No, but I can put in a double order for you since you drew the short straw tonight."

"We didn't have to draw straws, she's pregnant." Undyne informed her. Not to mention underage, at least by human laws, but none of them mentioned that.

"I see how it is." Maribelle laughed. "My friend's always wanted me to DD when I was pregnant too, but they are so rowdy. Anyway, soft drinks for drivers are half price, would you like anything?"

"A Shirley Temple, please. It doesn't need to be hero sized."

"Can I have a rum and coke?" Sans ordered after Frisk. "Also not hero sized. Opposite of hero sized. Do you have a sentry size?"

"A sentry that always fell asleep at their post, size." Undyne added.

"I still got the job done."

"No, one human in what, twenty years? Not that you noticed."

"Um, that one human, checking in. I didn't exactly get far."

"See, it turned out fine." He shrugged. Never had slacking off made him so lucky.

The waitress laughed nervously.

"Inside joke." Sans said, rather than try to explain. Most humans didn't exactly know all of what went on in the underground, after all.

"Right." She said, writing something on her notepad. "Anyway, feeling heroic?" The waitress asked Alphys.

She shook her head. "Just a Mojito, please."

"Sounds good, I'll be right back with those."

In the meantime, the band had warmed up and was playing a song about kings and burger trucks, the singer - a tall, long furred monster with untrimmed claws - screaming into the microphone.

"The bands real uh. Loud." Alph said, wincing a little as the microphone seemed to malfunction, filling the bar with the sound of audio feedback.

"Is MK drumming with his face?" Sans asked, the rest of the band had stopped playing, but it seemed like MK couldn't stop the beat.

"Yeah, he says it helps him get into the music, or something. He made a really long post on Undernet about it a while back."

"Living the dream, I see."

"I'm proud of him, he wanted to be in a band and did it." Frisk said, he admired how she always had something nice to say.

"Didn't you want to be a rock star at some point?" Alphys asked.

"Yeah, when I was twelve." She had dyed her hair purple and everything, to the horror of her mother. "I was going to learn how to play electric guitar. And then mom talked me into the flute instead."

The waitress returned with their drinks, pausing the lively conversation of Frisk's musical prowess. Setting the tray on the vacant table beside theirs, she carefully lifted Undyne's drink first. "Alright, one hero sized Manhattan." Undyne's eyes lit up as she set the bright red drink in front of her. "One Mojito" She set the well garnished drink in front of Alphys. "I'm not sure why the bartender thought you needed so many mint leaves, but he said it's the way you like it?"

"It's perfect, thank you."

She set Frisk's bright pink drink in front of her next, with at least three cherries mingling with the ice. "The mozzarella sticks will be a few more, and I forgot to ask if you'd like ranch or marinara."

"Both, please."

"You got it." She replied cheerfully, before grabbing Sans drink. It was smaller than what he expected, a shot glass, actually. "One sentry sized rum and coke, as requested."

Undyne was the first to laugh, followed by the waitress, giggling over her own joke. She had gotten him good. "That's fantastic." He chuckled.

"Here's a normal sized one, in case you changed your mind." She giggled, setting it beside the shot glass.

"Thank you." He said, still not certain how to respond to her joke. Undyne was still laughing in between draws on her straw.

"I'm sure you know what you're doing, but that's all whiskey." Maribelle said, wide eyed at Undyne's dedication.

"This won't be her first one of the night, she's fine." Alphys assured her. "A round of waters when you get the chance would be lovely, though."

"You got it." The waitress replied, before leaving to attend to another table.

Alphys busied herself with fishing a mint leaf out of her drink, and Frisk was doing the same with the cherries in hers.

"That's a nice bunch of cherries you got there." Undyne commented, pausing to stir her drink with her straw.

"Mhm." Frisk replied noncommittedly, losing the one she was trying to maneuver out of the ice.

"Looks like that one popped." Sans said, pointing out the one closest to the top.

"Those are the best ones." Frisk replied, pulling it out by the stem and eating it. "What's with the fascination with my cherries?" She paused, a flash of realization crossing her face. "I hate all of you."

"What did I do?" Alphys asked, munching on a mint leaf.

"You convinced me that going to the bar with these weirdos would be fun."

"I'm having fun." Sans defended, taking a sip of his drink. He scrunched up his face a little at the taste, he never really liked rum and coke, but he always ordered it.

"Are you wincing, lightweight?" Undyne asked.

"It's a bit strong." He defended.

"I'm sure." She snorted.

"Let me try it." Frisk offered, stopping herself halfway into reaching for his glass. "Or not. Yeah." She dedicated herself to her own drink for a moment.

By the time Undyne was almost to the bottom of her glass, which really wasn't that much time at all, the band seemed to have their sound gear together, and MK was stepping up the mic. "This next song is dedicated to my childhood hero, it called 'Spear of Just Us' and writing it was very important to me, so I hope you're ready to rock."

"He better not mean me." Undyne mumbled, stirring the dregs of her drink with her straw.

This was going to be good. Sans sat back in his seat a little, rotating the ice in his glass a little with a shake of his hand. Undyne and Alphys spun around in their seats to get a better view.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make out most of the lyrics due to the shotty speaker system, but the chorus seemed to go something like 'Won't you be my red haired heroine, my red haired heroine tonight.'

The waitress reappeared a little after the end of the song, while everyone was still snickering at the bright red blush on Undyne's face. "Did you have a bit too much?" She asked, setting a glass of water in front of Undyne.

"Nah, she just doesn't like the music." Sans teased, earning him a glare from Undyne that would feel more dangerous more or less drinks in. At this point it was just a buzzed threat.

"Are you serious? I love that song, they played it while auditioning to play tonight, it's sooo cute." Maribelle said, setting a platter of mozzarella sticks in from of Frisk. "I'm not sure who his childhood hero is, but she has to be pretty great."

"I'm sure she's great. Fantastic." Undyne said, still red. "Could I get another one of these?" She asked, gesturing to her empty glass - or bowl, as it were.

"No problem, I'd drink some water though first, you're looking as red as your hair." She paused. "Oh my god, is it you?"

Sans snorted, this was too good.

"Is what who?" Undyne asked, trying to sound confused.

"The drummer's childhood hero? He was telling me about her, she sounds just like you."

"You caught her. Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard." Sans grinned.

" _Former_ captain." She corrected, baring her teeth a little at him. Maybe he needed to quit while he had all his limbs intact. Maybe.

"That's so sweet of you to come out and see him play!" Maribelle all but squealed.

"He doesn't actually know we're here -" Alphys began.

"What a sweet surprise! Do you want me to tell him you're here?"

"That's not necessary.." Undyne replied.

"Aww you're just being modest, I'll let him know so you don't have to make a scene, I'll be right back." And before anyone could stop her, she hurried off.

Undyne slammed her head on the table, upsetting her glass as she did so. It wobbled dangerously on its side before Alphys righted it again.

"I hope you know that I'm actually going to kill you this time." She growled, her forehead still pressed to the table.

"I had no idea she was going to do that." He defended.

She groaned. "Could she have at least brought me another drink first?"

"What's your deal with MK, anyway? He's a sweetheart." Frisk defended, in between bites of mozzarella stick.

"He's a good kid, it's just the hero worship. Thing." Undyne replied, sitting up slowly. "I'm not much of a hero."

"Come on Undyne, you're fantastic. If I hadn't been so damn scared of you when we met, I'd probably would have hero worshipped you, too." Frisk said, giving her best attempt at a pep talk.

"Thanks." She replied, unconvinced. Sans noticed Alphys slipping her hand into Undyne's.

"We can leave after he comes over, if you want." Alphys offered.

Undyne shook her head. "It's no big deal. Besides, I want to see this weenie over here drink more than a shot of rum." She perked up a little with that.

"Undyne! Frisk! Oh my gosh!" MK called, nearly tripping over his own feet as he ran over to greet them. Undyne got out of her seat to give him a bear hug.

"Hey Pipsqueak, I see you're a big bad rocker now. How's your face feeling after all that?" Her voice was loud, but not all of her was in it.

"Great! Playing is so exhilarating!" He replied, trying to match her bravado of speaking.

"I haven't seen you since graduation, how have you been?" Frisk asked, smiling.

"Living the dream, as you can see. Congrats on the mini-Frisk, by the way. I guess we were wrong in voting Suzette most likely to have a whole litter of kids."

Sans nearly choked on his drink.

"No, I think just one is enough for now." Frisk said for him. "You okay, Sans?"

"Just great." He replied, reaching for his glass of water. Even though he didn't actually have a throat, the invisible magic that worked as such still made him feel like there was something stuck there.

"Come on Sans, you don't want a whole litter?" Undyne teased.

"We could have our own army of skeletons." Frisk added.

"I thought we were hoping for the non-skeletal variety."

"Where's the fun in that?" Frisk teased, as MK was greeting Alphys.

"Not having a bunch of kids that look like me running around, for one."

"But you're so cute." She replied, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Mmm, do you want to remind me what's in a Shirley Temple again?"

"Seven up and grenadine. Am I not allowed to find you cute?"

"Weren't you talking about standards earlier?"

"Yeah, I like you better with pants on."

"That's a rough one to hear from your girlfriend, huh?" Undyne cackled. He noticed that MK had since left. He was certain how Undyne got rid of him so quickly.

Frisk turned as red as he was blue. "I didn't mean it like. Um."

"How did you mean it, Frisk dear?" Undyne asked sweetly.

She stood up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Not because I'm embarrassed. Pregnancy bladder." She mumbled, walking off.

"That was just cold." He said, turning to his friends, who were giggling like mad.

"She said it, not me." Undyne replied, snorting. "Anyway, I think we should do shots."

"Uh." Alphys said, concerned.

"I'm with her."

"You are so not chickening out." Undyne insisted, her bright eyes staring him down.

"Okay, just one." He conceded.

"Who has just one shot, I know you're not actually a lightweight."

"You just want me to have a hangover tomorrow."

She shrugged. "That's tomorrow's problem. Come on, you and me."

"Hardly fair, you can probably drink a whole other Manhattan."

"Fine, one more drink, and then you're on."

It felt like a game he was bound to lose either way. "Fine."

He and Undyne were halfway into the second drink - Alphys was still working her way through her mint leaves - when Frisk returned from the bathroom, looking a little green.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" He asked as she slid into her seat.

She nodded, taking a sip of her drink. "I ate too many mozzarella sticks and they upset my stomach."

"Do you want to go home?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine, really. I'm having fun."

"Just let us know and we can be done for the night, okay?" Alph said softly, Undyne nodding in agreement.

"I think I'll be okay. It's not even midnight." She scooted her chair closer to Sans and lay her head on his shoulder.

"No falling asleep now, you're supposed to be driving." He reminded her, draping his arm over her shoulders. Maybe they should call it a night.

"I know." She replied softly. "What are you drinking now?" She asked, looking at his new drink in it's copper mug.

"Moscow Mule. Alphys said they're good."

"Are they?"

"If you like citrus."

"I thought you didn't order anything that you couldn't eat the garnish." Frisk said, looking up at Alphys.

"There's lime slices on the bottom." She replied, taking a sip of her now probably warm drink.

"Ah." Frisk replied, pressing a hand to her stomach. Sans lay his own beside it.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure." She yawned.

Their waitress came by then. "Just thought I'd check to see how y'all are doing. Can I get you anything?"

"Just the check, please, I think we're ready to head home."

"Ah, didn't think your DD would get droopy first. The band is covering your tab, so you can leave anytime you like."

"T-they don't need to do that." Undyne said, slurring a bit more than she probably realized.

"Don't worry about it, the bar covers the bands drinks, and none of them drink."

Undyne paused for a moment. "Well. Alright."

"No problem. Thanks for coming out, drive safe."

"Will do." Frisk replied, sitting up slowly.

"Do you need some help, honey?" Alphys asked Undyne.

"I've still got some fight left in me." Undyne bounded up, and nearly fell backwards into the table behind her. "But if someone is insisting, I wouldn't hurt their feelings."

"I've got you, Undyne." Sans said, earning him a grateful look from Alphys.

"I'm still mad at you, you know that?" She said as she draped an arm around his shoulder.

"I know you are, and one day I will pay for my crimes." He replied. His head was a little fuzzy, but he was pretty confident in his ability to get both him and Undyne out to the car.

"Mhm. Not anytime soon though, cause you have to be a daddy."

"I appreciate you giving me a stay of execution." He replied, letting Alphys get the door for them. Undyne's drinks must have been stronger than usual, she could usually get halfway into a third one before she got like this.

"I'm just nice like that." She murmured as they crossed the street. "Hey, Hey Alphys. Baby."

She turned around. "What do you need, dear?"

"Can we stop for ice cream?"

"We have ice cream at home, honey." She replied, opening the back door to the car.

"Do we have sprinkles?"

"We have all sorts of toppings."

"Good. Because I am going to eat so much ice cream when we get home." She paused. "Why are you leaning over me like that?" She asked, tapping Sans on the shoulder harder than she needed to.

"I'm buckling your seatbelt."

"Oh. Thank you."

"Be careful trying to get out, Frisk, the car behind us is parked really close." He warned as he got into his seat. Alphys had taken shotgun, not that he minded.

"I see them, thanks." Frisk replied, putting the car into gear.

"It's fucking cold in here." Undyne complained.

"The heat should kick on in a minute, dear." Alphys soothed. "The car is still warming up."

"Okay." She paused. "I love you."

"I love you too." Alphys replied. Her voice had taken on the tone of a tired mother.

"Like a whole lot."

"I know, dear."

"Did you drink any of your water, Undyne?" Frisk asked, having managed to wiggle the vehicle free of the cars parked way too close.

"Of course I did. I'm a pro at drinking water."

"Some might say she drinks like a - ouch!" He rubbed his arm where she had punched him. It wasn't very humerus.

"Get along now, you two." Alphys chided.

"We are! Undyne and me are best friends, right?" Sans replied, looking over at her. She was half asleep with her head against the window.

"I'll probably drop you two off, and you can come get your car tomorrow?" Frisk said.

"That sounds like a plan." Alphys replied. "We won't be needing it tonight."

After dropping off Undyne and Alphys - getting a half asleep, drunk Undyne in the house, even with a little blue magic help, was no easy task - they pulled into his quiet driveway.

"Do you want to stay over?" He asked, wasting no time in considering if he should ask. "You look like you're getting tired, and I know it's a short drive but -"

"You don't have to convince me." She replied, turning off the engine.

"I had been working on all that excuse all night, too."

"You're cute." She replied, opening her door.

"Well I certainly didn't get a girl like you with my personality."

"Yeah, I've just got a thing for skeletons." She teased as they headed inside.

"Well in that case, I've got a bone to pick with you."

"That one was weak."

"I thought it was pretty good."

"You're tipsy."

"Barely."

She pulled her phone out of her pocket to illuminate the stairs. "Hey, it's two minutes to midnight.

"So?"

"Aren't you going to kiss me to bring in the New Year?"

"Well, if you insist." He replied, pulling her close to him and pressing his lips to hers. Deciding to try something new, he materialized his tongue, running it across her bottom lip. Her tongue met his for a moment before she pulled away.

"Is time up already?"

She shook her head. "You're booze breath is making me nauseous."

He kissed her forehead. "One second." Disappearing into the kitchen, he returned with a candy cane in his mouth.

"Festive." She giggled, pulling the candy can from his mouth to kiss him again.

"Better?" he murmured against her lips, and she replied by pressing him against the wall, her soft body flush against him. He assumed it was a good thing.

She pulled away too soon, checking her phone again. "Happy New Year's."

"Happy New Year's." He replied, knowing it was definitely going to be a good year.

* * *

 **In case it isn't clear, MK is shirt for monster kid, Frisk's stripe clad buddy who escorted them through waterfall in the game.**

 **Also, this chapter is dedicated to all the cats that won't deal with my drunken antics, including my own and the claw happy tabby in my profile picture that I love (to the reviewer that commented on him, he belongs to my old roommates sister and hes my cat husband).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and please be sure to review and tell me what you think!**

 **Purrs,**

 **Tigerlily**


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